T 



ipiii^ 




V^ivil trcfvcmmeivt 



OF 



Colorado 



YOUNG 













.^. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 




I'liap. Copyright No..., 

__}S'bJ 

UNITED STATES OF AMERIC 




:^^ 



THE 



GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE 



OF THE vSTATE OF 



COLO K ADO 



BY 

J. S. YOUNG, A.M. 

Professor of American History and Government, Colorado State 

Normal School; formerly Asst. State Superintendent 

of Public Instruction for Colorado. 




\VH^^ -^'^ 



PHILADELPHIA 

Eldredge & Brother 

No. 17 North Seventh Street 
1897 



^>7 



:s 



^^\l. 



5 



••o^o«* 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1897, by 
ELDREDGE & BROTHER, 
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
.o.^. ^ 



*- 



-* 



WESTCOTT & THOMSON, 
ELECTROTYPERS, PHILADA. 




In the preparation of this work, the aim has been, not to present a 
liand-book of condensed facts, but through interest and suggestion, 
to stimulate the desire for individual investigation. In accordance 
with this view, the school library should be provided with the Session 
Laws, issued by the Secretary of State, since 1887. In this connection 
a set of Mills' Annotated Statutes (3 vols.) and a set of Hall's History 
of Colorado (4 vols.) will prove valuable aids. The teacher and pupils 
should make a collection of primary, convention and election calls, 
official ballots, blanks used by various officers and the official reports of 
State and local officers. 

The pupil should be led to discover the principles of government by 
his own thought and labor. To assist and direct in this work numerous 
references have been given to the Constitution. In the study of gov- 
ernment nothing can take the place of the Constitution. 

To use the ^'Studies" profitably, will require much conscientious 
preparation on the part of the teacher. The instructor should encour- 
age intelligent observation of all those things with which the citizen 
has to do in every-day life. 

That knowledge of government is valueless which does not inspire 
the pupil, at the proper time, to the performance of civic duties ; which 
does not lead him to realize that obedience to authority is the funda- 
mental basis of patriotism. 

Criticisms, suggestions and questions that may occur to teachers who 
use this book will be received in the professional spirit. 

The author desires to express his obligations to Professor X. M. Fen- 
neman, his colleague, at whose suggestion this book was undertaken, 
and to others who have kindly aided with advice and information. 

For the purpose of uniformity, the plan and portions of the text of 

this book are similar to those in other works of the series of which it is 

a part. 

J. S. Y. 

State Normal School,) 
Greeley, Colorado, i 




CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Introduction 5 

II. Historical Sketch of Colorado 9 

III. The State Government 28 

IV. Local Government 58 

V. Taxation 71 

VI. Public Education 77 

VII. Benevolent, Penal and Keformatory Institutions . 87 
VIII. Elections 93 

The Constitution of the State of Colorado 102 

Appendix 148 

Index 151 



ILLUSTEATIONS. 

William Gilpin, First Governor of Colorado Territory . 9 

Map of Colorado Territory in 1861, showing Acquisitions . 10 

John L. Routt, First Governor of the State of Colorado . 19 

Irrigating a AVheat Field 21 

Placer Mine near Alma 23 

The Royal Gorge on the Arkansas River 25 

The Great Seal of the State of Colorado 28 

The Capitol at Denver 33 

Arapahoe County Court- House, Denver 59 

City Hall, Denver 67 

High School, East Denver 77 

State Normal School, Greeley 83 

iv 



THE 

CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



OF 



COLORADO. 

CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

1. "A State is apolitical community of free citizens 
occupying a territory of defined boundaries, organized 
under a government sanctioned and limited by a written 
constitution, and established by the consent of the people. 
Each State or Commonwealth maintains a republican 
form of government, which is guaranteed by the United 
States." 

In an analysis of the above definition the following 
points are prominent : 

(1) The Land, 

(2) The People, 

(3) The Laws, 

(4) The Government. 

The civil government of Colorado, or of any State, must 
consider the people as an organized unit, having a desig- 
nated abode ; and as having officers cliosen to enact and 
administer laws according to the will of the people. The 
objects of civil government are (1) to secure justice and 
(2) to advance the interests of the common weal. 

2. The Land. — In this age, wandering tribes, held to- 
gether by an identity of interests only, do not constitute 

5 



6 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

a State. Since the introduction of agriculture the people 
have become more and more attached to some particular 
locality. A fixed abode has fostered the home and family- 
sentiment. The land, then, as the theatre of the people's 
activities, is one of the permanent elements of the State. - 
The name Colorado designates not only the political or- 
ganization of free citizens, but 'also the land comprised 
within certain specified limits.^ 

The character of the land — its fertility, resources, loca- 
tion and extent — determines the occupations of the people. 
The occupations of the people, together with their former 
training, determine the form of government for the State. 

A State with fertile soil and favorable climate, exten- 
sive forests of timber, and vast stores of minerals, requires 
a form of government and special laws that will regulate 
agriculture, lumbering and mining. The special laws of 
a State containing a navigable river will probably pertain 
to commerce. 

The chief resources of Colorado are (1) fertile soil and 
(2) a great variety of minerals. These resources indicate 
the occupations of the people, and the occupations in turn 
indicate the special character of the laws of the State. 

3. The People. — The habits and customs of the people, 
their former political training and education, modified by 
the physical environment, indicate the peculiar form of 
laws which a free State will possess. Many States con- 
tributed to the pioneer population of Colorado. The 
Middle States east of the Mississippi, especially central 
and southern Illinois, furnished the largest number, hence 
the political ideas of the people from those States have 
been re-enacted in this State. 

Even after the government has been organized the sub- 
sequent laws at any given time will depend on the train- 
ing, temper and needs of the people who constitute the 

^ See Constitution, Art. L 



INTRODUCTION. ( 

citizenship of the State. The laws of Colorado differ 
from those of Massachusetts; those of California, from 
those of Iowa. They differ because the people have dif- 
ferent needs, and have different ideas concerning laws. 

It is necessary to study the history of the people as a 
basis for any work on civil government. 

4. The Laws. — The laws of Colorado are either enacted 
directly by the people or indirectly by the representatives of 
the people. The people enact the organic or fundamental 
law of the State. This law is called the Constitution. It 
describes the framework of the government, the powers 
and duties of officers and the rights of the people. The 
Constitution can be changed only by the will of the peo- 
ple; no officer can change it. 

The Constitution provides for its own amendment by 
the people, that it may be adequate for the constantly 
widening demands of society. 

Throughout the Constitution such expressions as, " un- 
less otherwise provided by law " and " as shall be provided 
by law " occur frequently. In this way authority is given 
to the General Assembl}^ to enact laws indirectly for the 
people. These are called statutory laws. They must not 
conflict with the organic law enacted directly by the peo- 
ple. Statutory law, especially that enacted by the first 
General Assembly, is very important. Many of these 
laws provide for the regulation of mining, irrigation, agri- 
culture and stock-raising, for, next to the freedom of the 
people, these are the subjects of greatest importance. 

The laws of the State are constitutional law, the statu- 
tory laws, the interpretation of the courts, and that which 
cannot be expressed in written form — the character of the 
people. It should be understood that back of the laws, 
to give them authority, and back of the government to 
make it efficient, is the will of the people. 

5. The Government. — By means of the ballot the peo- 
ple elect representatives or officers. Theoretically, officers 



8 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO, 

are only individuals in the State ; practically, however, 
while invested by the people with civil authority they 
constitute the government. The government is concerned 
with enacting, administering and interpreting laws. While 
acting as the government, officers are held strictly respon- 
sible for their official acts. They may be impeached and 
tried for malfeasance in office. 

6. The Constitution and the laws of Colorado must not 
conflict with the Constitution and the laws of the United 
States ; but the government of the State is supreme within 
its sphere. Questions of National policy often overshadow 
local questions, but home government in the school dis- 
trict, in the county and in the State has more to do than 
National government in matters connected with the home, 
the family, and the daily life of the citizen.^ Through a 
thorough understanding of local affairs the citizen more 
readily comprehends the needs of the National govern- 
ment. Active participation in the government of small 
local units should be the watchword of every citizen. It 
is only in this way that this will be " a government of the 
people, by the people, and for the people." 

^ " It will not be denied that the State government touches the citizen 
and his interests twenty times, where the National government touches 
him once.'^ — James A. Garfield. 

** An American may, through a long life, never be reminded of the 
Federal government, except when he votes at presidential or congres- 
sional elections, lodges a complaint against the post-office, and opens his 
trunk for a custom-house officer on the pier at New York when he re- 
turns from a tour in Europe. His direct taxes are paid to officials act- 
ing under State laws. The State, or a local authority constituted by the 
State statutes, registers his birth, appoints his guardian, pays for his 
schooling, gives him a share in the estate of his father deceased, mar- 
ries him, divorces him, entertains civil action against him, declares him 
a bankrupt, hangs him for murder. The police that guard his house, 
the local boards which look after the poor, control highways, impose 
water rates, manage schools—all these derive their legal powers from 
the State alone." — Bryce's American Commonwealth, 




William Gilpin, First Governor of Colorado Territory. 

CHAPTER II. 

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COLORADO. 



General Description of Colorado. 

7. Colorado is one of the highest States in the Union, 
being situated partly in the great phiin of the Mississippi 
valley, and partly in the Rocky Mountain region, between 
latitude 37° and 41° north, and longitude 102° and 109° 
west from Greenwich. Its length from east to west is three 
hundred and eighty miles ; its width from north to south 
is two hundred and seventy-five miles. In area (103,925 
. square miles) it ranks as the fifth State in the Union. 

The territory included in this vast area was acquired 
by the United States in three tracts : the territory north 

9 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COLORADO, 11 

of the Arkansas River and east of the summit of the 
Rocky Mountains was purchased from France in 1803 ; 
that south of the Arkansas River and east of the Rio 
Grande was purchased from Texas in 1850; the remain- 
der of the State was acquired by the Mexican cession of 
1848/ 

Discovery and Exploration. 

8. In 1540 Coronado, a Spaniard, set out from Santa Fe 
in search of the seven cities of Cibohi.^ He reached these 
cities, but found the stories about gold to be false. The 
natives directed him eastward. His account relates that 
he reached latitude 40° north, somewhere on the south- 
ern boundary of Nebraska. This explorer is supposed to 
have been the first white man within the present limits 
of Colorado. 

In 1776 another Spanish exploring expedition, under 
the command of Escalante, set out from Santa Fe, with 
the intention of exploring a route from Santa Fe to the 
coast of Upper California. This company traversed the 
western part of Colorado through the territory of the CliflF- 
dwellers ^ north to where the White River enters Utah. 

9. The next account of exploration in this territory is 
that of Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike. The vast territory 
known as Louisiana had been transferred by Napoleon to 
the United States in 1803. This territory was an unknown 
land. The government at Washington was desirous of 
having it explored. Lieutenant Pike was sent out to ex- 
plore the source of the Red River. In 1806 he beheld 

^ For a history of these acquisitions see any standard United States 
History. 

'^ The Indians reported to the Spaniards that to the northward were 
located seven cities comparable in size to the City of Mexico. These 
cities were supposed to be very wealthy in gold and silver. 

^ In the south-western part of Colorado there are found the remains 
of an extinct race, known as the Cliff-dwellers. 



12 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

the stately peak which now bears his name. In his diary- 
he thus refers to it: " This mountain was so remarkable 
as to be known to all the savage nations for hundreds of 
miles around, and to be spoken of with admiration by 
the Spaniards of New Mexico, and was the bounds of their 
travels north-west." 

10. A second expedition was fitted out by the govern- 
ment in 1820, and placed under the command of Col. 
Stephen Long. In the early summer he reached and fol- 
lowed up the South Platte River, and discovered the giant 
peak to which his name has been given. Col. Long care- 
fully examined the territory from Long's Peak to Pike's 
Peak. His report to the government described most of 
the territory west of the Missouri River as a desert. As a 
result of this report no more exploring expeditions were 
sent out by the government until 1842. 

11. Col. John C. Fremont, the illustrious "Pathfinder," 
had charge of the expedition of 1842. Upon his arrival at 
California Crossing (Julesburg) he sent a detachment of 
his forces to Fort Laramie. With the rest of his com- 
mand, he proceeded up the South Platte to Fort St. Vrain, 
a trading-post seventeen miles east of Long's Peak, and 
one hundred miles north of Pike's Peak. He turned 
north and explored the country beyond the limits of Colo- 
rado. In 1843 Fremont made surveys of the country 
north and south of the Divide and mapped out the 
main geographical features of Colorado. 

None of these explorers knew for a certainty that there 
was gold in this region, although Fremont's reports bore 
testimony to the mineral character of the country. 

Early Settlements and Discovery of Gold. 

12. Trappers, hunters and scouts are the forerunners 
of builders of forts; the builders of forts and the de- 
fenders of the frontier blaze the way for a subsequent 
civiUzation. The early work of such scouts and guides 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COLORADO. 13 

as Carson, the Bents, the St. Vrains, Bridger and Max- 
well guided those who followed them and whose genius 
for civilization has builded an empire. 

The first place in Colorado for the haVjitation of white 
persons was a stockade built by Lieutenant Pike for winter 
quarters in 1806-7, near the present town of Caiion City on 
the Arkansas River. He also established a block house in 
the San Luis valley. In 1826 the Bent brothers and Ceran 
St. Vrain, who were experienced trappers and traders in 
the service of the American Fur Company, erected a rude 
trading-post nearly midway between Canon City and Pueblo 
on the north bank of the Arkansas River. 

In 1828 the Bents moved to a point a few miles east 
of the present town of Las Animas and erected a structure 
which was known as Fort William in honor of Colonel 
William Bent. 

In 1854, after the destruction of Fort William, Col. 
Bent built another fort several miles west of the original 
fort. This was leased to the government in 1859. In 1860 
Col. Sedgwick, aided by Col. Bent, began the construction 
of a fort at the mouth of the Purgatoire River. This was 
first named Fort Wise, in honor of Governor Wise of Vir- 
ginia, but subsequently the name was changed to Fort 
Lyon. 

13. About 1840 a settlement was made on the present 
site of Pueblo by Charles Bent, Lupton, and St. Vrain. 
They also made a settlement thirty miles above, at Hard- 
scrabble. Fort Massachusetts was established in the San 
Luis valley in 1852. It was dismantled in 1858, but was 
rebuilt and called Fort Garland. 

14. In 1858, on the banks of the Platte a few miles above 
Denver, a settlement was made and named Montana City. 
The same year a party of nine selected the east side of 
Cherry Creek, near its mouth, for a town site, and gave it 
the name of St. Charles. About the same time another 
company selected the west side of Cherry Creek for a town 

B 



14 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

site, and named it Auraria. The name of St. Charles was 
soon changed to Denver in honor of the governor of the 
Territory of Kansas. An intense rivalry existed between 
Denver and Auraria (West Denver) until 1860, when the 
two towns were consolidated under the name of Denver. 
The first settlers came to Boulder county in 1858. South 
Park, Golden, Colorado City, Boulder, and Russellville 
were settled in 1859. 

15. A party of Cherokee Indians, in 1852, on their way 
from Georgia to California, discovered gold in a small 
tributary of the Platte. Exciting reports of gold induced 
many persons to leave their homes in the East for the 
Pike's Peak country. In 1858, W. Green Russell of Geor- 
gia prospected for gold along Cherry Creek and the Platte. 
His search was rewarded by finding gold in paying quan- 
tities. John H. Gregory, in 1858, discovered rich veins of 
gold in the region about Black Hawk and Central City. 
The news of the gold discovery having been confirmed, the 
Pike's Peak country soon became filled with prospectors 
looking for wealth. 

Attempts at Government. 

16. The population of the Pike's Peak country was of 
a cosmopolitan character. All elements were represented ; 
but the Anglo-Saxon genius for government soon asserted 
itself. The first effort at local government is to be found 
in the courts which administered justice. 

On the plains, the People's courts held sway; in the 
mountains, the Miners' courts had jurisdiction. 

In the People's courts persons accused of crime were 
tried by hastily improvised assemblies of the people them- 
selves acting as a jury, presided over by a judge selected 
for the purpose. The accused person was assigned an 
attorney to defend him and was given a fair trial. 

The Miners' courts acted under a different organization. 
Pursuant to a public call all the miners of a district met. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COLORADO. 15 

organized the district, elected a president, judge, sheriff, 
collector and surveyor for the ensuing year, prescribed 
their powers and duties, and enacted a " Miners' code." 
The court was responsible to the Miners' Meeting. A case 
not settled by the courts was carried directly to the 
Miners' Meeting, from which there was no appeal. The 
judicial machinery of the People's and the Miners' courts 
was not extensive, but the decisions were usually on the 
side of justice. 

IT. A large portion of what is now Colorado was in- 
cluded in the original Territory of Kansas, but the Kansas 
officials restricted their operations to the eastern part of the 
Territory, and the government of the Pike's Peak country 
was neglected. A convention of people, acting as citizens 
of Kansas, was held at Auraria in November, 1858, and a 
county formed and named Arapahoe, after a neighboring 
tribe of Indians. The convention elected Hiram J. Gra- 
ham as delegate to Congress and Andrew J. Smith as 
representative to the Kansas legislature. Graham was 
instructed to petition Congress to form the county of 
Arapahoe into a Territory. Smith was to endeavor to 
secure a seat in the Kansas legislature and to have the 
organization of Arapahoe county confirmed. The efforts 
of both these gentlemen were fruitless, except that the 
county of Arapahoe was confirmed by the Kansas legis- 
lature. 

18. As the population was constantly increasing, an 
established form of government became indispensable. 
On April 11, 1859, a mass meeting was held at Auraria. 
At this meeting it was determined to hold a delegate 
convention. This convention, held April 15th, determined 
on " the formation of a new and independent State of the 
Union." At a delegate convention on the first Monday 
in June, the work of drafting a Constitution was entrusted 
to eight committees. These committees were empowered 
to prepare the Constitution and present it for considera- 



16 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO, 

tion to a larger convention to be held the first Monday 
in August. At this convention in August a Constitution 
was completed which was to be submitted to the people 
for acceptance or rejection. On September 4th the Con- 
stitution was rejected by a large majority. 

19. On Monday October 3d, Beverley D. Williams was 
elected to memorialize Congress to organize the Pike's 
Peak country. Delegates were elected at the same time 
to form a Provisional Territorial Government. The del- 
egates chosen entered upon their work with earnestness. 
The new Constitution was called the '^Organic Act of 
the Territory of Jefferson." On Monday October 24th, 
officers were elected for the Territory of Jefferson. Robert 
W. Steele was chosen governor. The newly elected legis- 
lature met and formally received the message of Governor 
Steele, and enacted a full criminal and civil code. A con- 
test between the Kansas officials of Arapahoe county and 
the officials of the Territory of Jefferson was waged for 
supremacy. The Kansas officials finally ceased to have 
more than a nominal existence. The Provisional Gov- 
ernment continued until the Territory of Colorado was 
organized. 

Colorado as a Territory. 

20. The Territory of Colorado ^ was organized by an act 
of Congress approved February 28, 1861. The act provided 
for the appointment of a governor and other Territorial 
officers, including judges of the Territorial supreme court. 
The Territorial legislature consisted of a Council and a 
House of Representatives. 

21. In 1861 the Federal officers arrived, and on May 
29, 1861, civil government in Colorado, under the authority 
of the National government, was regularly established. 

^ Colorado takes its name from the Colorado Eiver. This river was 
so named from the color of the water; Colorado being the Spanish 
name for red. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COLORADO. 17 

William Gilpin was the first governor of the Territor}^. 
Soon after assuming office he made a tour of the settle- 
ments to acquaint himself with their needs. At all points 
of this journey he was given an ovation, for the people 
felt secure when under the strong arm of the Federal 
government. Gilpin has been called the " Founder of 
Colorado." When asked what he was doing in the West, 
he invariably replied, '' I am founding an empire." He 
lived to see his statement verified. 

In compliance with the provisions of the act organ- 
izing the Territory a census was taken ; the population 
was found to be 25,329. The Territorial supreme court 
was established July 10, 1861. On July 11th the gov- 
ernor issued a proclamation declaring the Territory one 
congressional district, and this was divided into nine 
council and thirteen representative districts. On August 
19th, Hiram P. Bennett was elected delegate to Congress, 
and on the same day the members of the Territorial leg- 
islature were elected. The legislature convened Septem- 
ber 9th. Full civil and criminal codes were adopted; 
in mining legislation the authority of the Miners' courts 
was recognized, and provision was made for tlie transfer 
of cases from the Miners' courts to the Federal courts. 
The first legislature deserves great praise for its efficient 
work. 

Governor Gilpin organized the first regiment of Colorado 
infantry, which was placed under the command of Col. 
John P. Slough. The Texan invasion of 1862 was repelled 
by this force. During this year a strong tide of immigra- 
tion set in. 

22. Governor Gilpin was succeeded by Dr. John Evans 
in April, 1862. During 1862-3 two regiments of Colorado 
cavalry were raised. They won renown in their move- 
ments in Missouri against the Confederates commanded 
by General Price. In 1863 a branch telegraph line was 
completed from California Crossing (Julesburg) to Denver. 

2— Col 



18 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

During this year there was a great boom in the mining busi- 
ness. In the spring of 1864 the Indians of the plains com- 
bined to exterminate the whites. They attacked coaches 
and wagon trains, massacred the inmates of exposed 
settlements, and scalped and mutilated helpless women 
and children. At Sand Creek,. about twenty miles north- 
east of Lamar, Col. Chivington, with a body of United 
States troops, attacked a party of seven hundred Chey- 
ennes and completely annihilated them. 

23. In 1864 the Colorado legislature petitioned the 
thirty-eighth Congress to pass an " enabling act" providing 
for the admission of Colorado as a State. The enabling 
act was passed by Congress, but the Constitution prepared 
by a convention under the authority of the enabling act, 
when submitted to a vote of the people was rejected, in 
October, 1864. 

24. In 1865 there was another outbreak of the Indians, 
which was quelled by United States troops.^ In this year 
another Constitution was framed by a convention and 
adopted by a vote of the people. At this time Congress 
was not disposed to admit Colorado as a State. An exi- 
gency arose, — Congress needed the services of another rep- 
resentative and two senators to assist in the impeachment 
of President Johnson. Another enabling act was passed, 
but it was vetoed by President Johnson. 

25. Alexander Cummings succeeded John Evans as 
governor in October, 1865. During his administration 
Colorado enjoyed unusual prosperity. On May 27, 1867, 
Alexander C. Hunt became governor; he was succeeded by 
Edward M. McCook, June 15, 1869. 

26. In 1870 the Denver Pacific railway was completed 
to Cheyenne, to intersect with the Union Pacific ; the Kari- 

^ The early history of Colorado is replete with the records of heroic 
struggles with the Indians. The massacre of Nathan C. Meeker is a 
disgraceful blot on the Indian policy of the National government. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COLORADO. 



19 



sas Pacific also reached Denver from Kansas City durin*g 
this year. During this and the succeeding year, successful 
settlements were made at Greeley, Longmont and Colo- 
rado Springs. Soon after, many successful colonies were 
planted in the San Juan region. 

Samuel H. Elbert succeeded Edward M. McCook as gov- 
ernor in 1873, but McCook was re-appointed in 1874. A 
bitter factional fight was waged among the members of the 
Republican party on account of the frequent change of 
Territorial governors. It was finally settled by the ap- 
pointment of John L. 
Routt as governor, 
March 29, 1875. 

Through the efforts 
of Jerome B. Chaffee, 
delegate to Congress, 
a third enabling act 
was passed in 1875 
providing for the ad- 
mission of Colorado as 
a State. 

Colorado as a State. 

27. The admission 
of new States into the 
Union is provided for 
by the Constitution of the United States, but the condi- 
tions and mode of admission are left to be prescribed by 
Congress.^ 

The act enabling Colorado to become a State was ap- 
proved by President Grant, March 3, 1875. On Monday, 
October 25, 1875, an election was held for delegates to form 
a State Constitution. The constitutional convention assem- 
bled Monday, December 20th, in the city of Denver. It 




John L. Routt, First Governor op the 
State of Colorado. 



^ See Thorpe's Course in Civil Government, page 61. 



20 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

completed its work in eighty-six days/ There were thirty- 
nine members in the convention. To their honor be it 
said, partisan political feeling was for the time quieted. 
The convention wrought earnestly, honestly and patriot- 
ically for the future of Colorado. 

The convention issued an address to the people, which 
deserves to rank as a State paper of high order. The Con- 
stitution was submitted to a vote of the people July 1, 
1876.'^ The majority in its favor was 11,381, which was 
duly certified to the President by Governor John L. Routt. 
President Grant issued his proclamation declaring Colo- 
rado a State of the Union, August 1, 1876.^ Thus was 
Colorado, " The Centennial State," ushered into the sister- 
hood of States during the celebration of the one hundredth 
anniversary of the Republic. 

Resources of Colorado. 

28. " The plains east of the mountains constitute about 
one-third of the total area, the remainder, in the middle, 
being mountains and parks, and the western, high mesa 
lands. The greater portion of the mesas can be cultivated 
if sufficient water can be brought over them for purposes 
of irrigation. The park and mountain region is, in general, 
too elevated for agriculture, but may be extensively util- 

^ This was the third attempt at State government. The first was 
defeated by a vote of the people ; the second by the veto of President 
Johnson. 

^ The Constitution of Colorado is among the longest of the State 
Constitutions. One excuse for the number of articles of the Constitu- 
tion is, that Colorado has many separate and distinct sets of interests. 
Only a careful study of the instrument can reveal its excellence. 

^ The first State election was held in October, 1876 ; John L. Routt 
was elected governor. In November, Thomas M. Patterson was elected 
representative to Congress. The first General Assembly convened at 
Denver, Wednesday, November 1, 1876. On November 14th the Gen- 
eral Assembly elected Jerome B. Chaffee and Henry M. Teller United 
States senators. 



22 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

ized for pasture ground for cattle, horses and sheep. The 
plains east of the mountains, which are all arable lands, 
can be made productive, and in a great many portions are 
producing large crops of cereals under systematic irriga- 
tion. Considerable portions of river and creek bottoms 
and uplands can be cultivated without irrigation. Sixteen 
thousand square miles of the State are covered by forests. 
The mineral lands located along the mountain slopes 
cover a large extent, although the aggregate of productive 
areas may not embrace many square miles. Four-fifths 
of the State has an elevation of 4000 to 10,000 feet. 
The lowest elevation on the eastern border is 3703 feet, 
and on the western 4435 feet. Along the foot-hills the 
average is 6500 feet. In the principal parks it ranges 
from 8000 to 9500 feet. The summit of the main range 
averages about 11,000 feet. Seventy-two peaks rise to 
heights ranging between 13,500 and 14,500 feet above 
the level of the sea. The highest mountain is Mount 
Blanca, which has an elevation of 14,483 feet.'^^ 

Because of the peculiar climatic conditions, the native 
grasses will nourish live-stock every month in the year. 
The live-stock industry is a source of great wealth ; Colo- 
rado is peculiarly adapted to sheep-raising. The oil-fields 
of Colorado are among the most productive of any State 
in the Union ; there are also mountains of iron, granite, 
marble and building stone, the value of which is unsur- 
passed. Zinc, lead and copper are plentiful. 

Colorado leads the other States in the production of the 
precious metals — gold and silver; but the production of 
silver has been greatly reduced since the repeal of the 
silver-purchasing clause by Congress. Every quality of 
coal abounds in the State; in this respect Colorado is 
" a second Pennsylvania. Owing to the fertility of the 
soil and the perfected system of irrigation, Colorado is 

^ From an article prepared by Prof. P. H. Van Diest for Hall's 
History of Colorado. 



24 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

fast becoming a producer of the finest grains, fruits and 
vegetables. In no portion of the West is irrigation, the 
science of modern agriculture, better understood or more 
thoroughly developed than in Colorado/ 

The natural scenery of this State is more varied, beauti- 
ful and wildly picturesque than that of any country in the 
world. 

The Future of the State. 

29. Since Colorado became a State in 1876, its history 
has been one of progressive development. The intelli- 
gence, the enterprise, and the moral earnestness of the 
people have imprinted the stamp of an advanced civiliza- 
tion on the character of the State. In accordance with 
the true American idea, the church accompanies the 
school. Vigorous churches of all denominations and an 
able ministry are keeping step with other forces w^hich are 
rapidly telling for true stability and growth. 

What shall be the future of our State? That future 
depends on the men and women, the boys and girls of 
to-day. It is they who make the State. Throughout the 
wide world there is no other land so full of opportunities 
as our own. We are free to make our institutions ideal 
in their perfection. But our civil institutions depend on 
the citizen for their strength and character. He makes 
the government in school district, county, State and 
Nation. His interests are entrusted to public servants of 
his own choosing. Upon him fall both the responsibilities 
and the blessings of free government. 

At the fireside we hear the story of Washington and 
Lincoln ; in school we learn of the making of the States 

^ The following table is interesting : 

Acres farmed by irrigation (1895) 2,100,000 

Value of products per irrigated acre $14. 

Value of products of irrigated lands $29,000,000 

Value of products of lands not irrigated .... $1,500,000 




The Royal Gorge on the Arkansas River, Colorado. 



26 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

and of the Nation ; we learn the nature of the State, its 
organization and its administration. We leave school, and 
enter upon the active duties of life ; then our influence is 
for or against good government — we hinder or we promote 
the general welfare. Many years ago a child of five years 
became King of France. Until he was old enough to 
take upon himself the cares of his kingdom his guardians 
ruled in his name. On the day when he became of age 
his minister inquired of him, "" Sire, to whom shall I now 
report?" "To me," replied the king, '^ I am the State." 
And in this country, when a youth enters upon his man- 
hood years, he may well say, '' I am the State. Its inter- 
ests, its honor, its history, are mine also." 

Popular government on a vast scale is for the first time 
on trial in this country. It is upon the individual citizens 
that its destiny depends. The work of good government 
is our work. " With malice toward none ; with charity for 
all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the 
right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in." And 
we may then confidently expect the blessings of Provi- 
dence to rest upon the State of Colorado. 



PROMINENT EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF COLO- 
RADO. 



— o>a<o 



1540. Expedition of Coronado. 

1776. Expedition of Escalante. 

1806. Discovery of Pike's Peak. 

1806-7. Stockade built at Canon City. 

1820. Expedition of Col. Stephen H. Long. 

1828. Fort William erected. 

1840. Settlement made at Pueblo. 

1842-3. Expedition of Col. John C. Fremont, the "Pathfinder," a 

preparation for the surveys of the Pacific Railroad. 
1852. Gold discovered. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COLORADO, 27 

1858. Settlements made at St. Charles and Auraria. 
Arapahoe County organized. 

1859. Golden, Colorado City, Boulder, and Russellville settled. 
Organization of Jefferson Territory. 

1860. St. Charles and Auraria consolidated under the name of 

Denver. 

1861. Territory of Colorado organized. 

1862. Texan invasion repelled. 

1864. Battle of Sand Creek. 

First Enabling Act passed by Congress. 
The Constitution formed under the authority of the first 
Enabling Act rejected by the people. 

1865. Second Enabling Act passed by Congress and vetoed by 

President Johnson. 

1875. Third Enabling Act passed by Congress. Approved by 

President Grant, March 3d. 
1875-6. Constitutional Convention assembled December 20, 1875, 
and adjourned after a session of eighty-six days. 

1876. Constitution approved by the people, July 1st. 

1876. Proclamation of President Grant declaring Colorado a State 
of the Union, August 1st. 



REFERENCE BOOKS. 

The following list of books is appended for the use of those who desire 
to make an extended study of the history of Colorado : 

Hall's History of Colorado. 

Boyd's History of Greeley and the Union Colony. 

Bancroft's Nevada, Colorado and Wyoming. 

Corbett's Legislative Manual. 

Fossett's Colorado. 

Dana's The Great West. 

IngersoU's Crest of the Continent. 

Ralph's Our Great West. 

Richardson's Beyond the Mississippi. 

Taylor s Colorado. 

Vickers' History of Denver. 




The Great Seal op the State of Colorado. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE STATE GOVERNMENT. 



0>^C>8- 



30. The Citizen. — According to the provisions of the 
fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United 
States, " All persons born or naturalized in the United 
States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens 
of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." 
From this it follows, that citizens are either native born or 
naturalized. Hence, every person now residing in Colorado 
who fulfills either of these two conditions is a citizen of this 
State. 

A citizen is a member of the community ; he may or may 
not have the right to vote, but in either case he is pro- 
tected by the government in his civil rights, and therefore 
owes allegiance to the State. The citizen's duty toward 
the State includes : (1) Unqualified obedience to the laws 
of the State ; (2) A giving up of part of his means for the 
support of the government by paying taxes ; (3) Support 

28 



THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 29 

of the government by force of arms should necessltV 
require it. 

31. The Elector. — An elector is a citizen who has the 
right of suffrage. The elector has all the obligations of the 
citizen, and in addition, he has the right of voting, which 
is a trust. The abuse of the right to vote is a menace to 
good government. To vote wisely and conscientiously is 
to promote the general welfare. The framers of our State 
Constitution did not give all citizens the right to vote, but 
provided safeguards for the right of the elective franchise.^ 
At the general election in 1893, by the authority of the 
State Constitution, the right to vote at all elections, and to 
hold office, was extended to women. ^ 

32. Departments of the Government. — The govern- 
ment of Colorado, like that of the otlier States, is vested in 
three departments — the Legislative, the Executive, and the 
Judicial — among which are distributed all powers which 
the people desire to have exercised by the government.^ 

The Legislative Department. 

33. The Legislative Power. — While the three depart- 
ments — the law-making, law-explaining and law-enforcing 
— are necessary to the existence and continuance of the 
government, the legislative, or law-making, is of prime 
importance, for laws must be enacted before they can be 
explained and enforced. All the laws of the State of 
Colorado are made by the legislative department. The 
governor of the State participates in legislation when he 
approves or vetoes a bill. Any law which is not in har- 
mony with the Constitution of the United States and with 
that of the State may be declared void b)^ the judicial 
department. 

^ See Art. VIL Since the Constitution is the source from which a 
knowledge of government is gained, it is constantly referred to in con- 
nection witli the text. 

2 See Art. VIL Sect. 2. ^ See Art. Ill 



30 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

The legislative power of Colorado is vested in a General 
Assembly, or Legislature, consisting of a Senate and a 
House of Representatives.^ 

34. The General Assembly. — Members of the General 
Assembly^ are chosen by the electors at the general State 

1 See Art. V. Sect. 1. 

'^ The Constitution originally provided that the General Assembly 
should consist of seventy-five members, i. e. twenty-six senators and 
forty-nine representatives, but it empowered the General Assembly 
to increase this number after the year 1890, provided that the aggregate 
number should never exceed one hundred (see Art. V. Sect. 46). Under 
this authority in 1 891 the membership of the General Assembly was 
increased to one hundred, viz. thirty-five senators and sixty-five repre- 
sentatives, apportioned as follows : 

Senatorial Districts. — First, Arapahoe county, 6 senators; 
second, Pueblo, 2 ; third, Douglas and El Paso, 2 ; fourth. Las Ani- 
mas, 1 ; fifth, Boulder, 1 ; sixth. Lake, 1 ; seventh, Weld, 1 ; eighth, 
Jeflferson, 1 ; ninth, Fremont, 1 ; tenth, Larimer, 1 ; eleventh, Pitkin, 
1 ; twelfth. Clear Creek, 1 ; thirteenth, Kio Blanco, Routt, Grand, and 
Summit, 1 ; fourteenth, Costilla, Huerfano, and Custer, 1 ; fifteenth, 
Saguache, Eio Grande, Hinsdale, and Mineral, 1 ; sixteenth, Gunni- 
son, Delta, and Mesa, 1 ; seventeenth, Montrose, San Miguel, and 
Dolores, 1 ; eighteenth, Ouray and San Juan, 1 ; nineteenth. La Plata 
and Montezuma, 1 ; twentieth, Chaffee and Park, 1 ; twenty-first, Gar- 
field and Eagle, 1 ; twenty-second, Cheyenne, Lincoln, Kit Carson, 
Elbert, and Arapahoe, 1 ; twenty-third, Otero, Kiowa, Bent, Prowers, 
and Baca, 1 ; twenty-fourth, Archuleta and Conejos, 1 ; twenty-fifth, 
Sedgwick, Morgan, Logan, Washington, Yuma, and Phillips, 1 ; 
twenty-sixth, Gilpin, 1 ; twenty-seventh, Pueblo and Huerfano, 1 ; 
twenty-eighth, Park and Lake, 1. 

Representative Apportionment.— Arapahoe county, 13 ; Pue- 
blo, 4 ; El Paso, 3 ; Boulder, 3 ; Lake, Las Animas, and Weld, 2 
each ; Fremont, Chaffee, Clear Creek, Costilla, Conejos, Custer, Doug- 
las, Eagle, Garfield, Gilpin, Gunnison, Huerfano, Jefferson, La Plata, 
Larimer, Mesa, Otero, Ouray, Park, Pitkin, Saguache, San Miguel, 1 
each ; Conejos and Archuleta, jointly 1 ; Hinsdale and San Juan, 
jointly 1 ; Kiowa, Baca, and Prowers, jointly 1 ; Las Animas and 
Bent, jointly 1 ; Dolores and Montezuma, jointly 1 ; Koutt and Kio 
Blanco, jointly 1 ; Yuma, Morgan, and Washington, jointly 1 ; Logan, 
Sedgwick, and Phillips, jointly 1 ; Grand and Summit, jointly 1 ; Fre- 



THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 31 

election on the first Tuesday after the first Monday ih 
November of each even-numbered year (1896, '98), and 
serve, the rejjresentatives for two years and the senators 
for four years, from the first Wednesday of December 
after their election.^ Should a vacancy occur in either 
house, a special election to fill the vacancy is ordered 
by the governor.^ 

The General Assembly meets in regular session, at 12 
o'clock, noon, in the Capitol building, in Denver, on the 
first Wednesday of January following the election. The 
Constitution provides that no session of the General As- 
sembly shall exceed ninety days. At the discretion of tlie 
governor, special sessions of the General Assembly may 
be convened on extraordinary occasions, and the Senate 
may be convened in special session by the governor for 
the transaction of executive business.^ 

Joint sessions, in which both houses unite and act as 
one, are held for the election of United States senator ; for 
the determination of a contested election of a State officer ; 
and for canvassing the vote for State officers. 

The General Assembly elects two citizens to represent 
the State in the Senate of the United States, and for elec- 
tion purposes it divides the State into judicial, representa- 
tive, senatorial and congressional districts.* 

The laws enacted by the General Assembly deal w^ith 
the subjects which concern the residents of the State both 

mont and Chaffee, jointly 1 ; Kit Carson and Cheyenne, jointly 1 ; 
Elbert and Lincoln, jointly 1 ; Montrose and Delta, jointly 1 ; Rio 
Grande and Mineral, jointly 1. 

^ For qualifications of members of the General Assembly see Art. V. 
Sect. 4. 

2 See Art, V. Sect. 2. '' See Art. IV. Sect. 9. 

* There are two congressional districts in Colorado, as follows : 

1. The counties of Larimer, Boulder, Weld, Morgan, Logan, Wash- 
ington, Sedgwick, Phillips, Yuma, Arapahoe, Jefferson, Park, and Lake. 

2. The remaining forty-three counties of the State. 



32 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

in their relations to the State and to the community in 
which they live, and in their every-day actions and busi- 
ness relations with one another. They provide for the gov- 
ernment of counties, cities, towns and school districts ; for 
the organization and procedure of the courts ; for the estab- 
lishment and support of schools and benevolent institu- 
tions ; for the prevention and punishment of crime ; for the 
levying of taxes to defray the expenses of the State gov- 
ernment ; for the qualifications of electors and the conduct 
of elections ; for the formation and regulation of railroad, 
manufacturing, mining, business and other corporations ; 
for the legal relations of husband and wife and of parent 
and child ; for buying and selling houses, lands and goods, 
and for the due fulfillment of all lawful contracts that may 
be made by residents of the State. It is seen, therefore, 
that the real function of State law is to guide, to restrain 
and to protect the citizen in most of his undertakings.^ 

35. The House of Representatives. — The number of 
members of the House of Representatives varied in the dif- 
ferent legislatures until 1891, when the General Assembly 
fixed the number at sixty-five.^ These are apportioned 
among the representative districts of the State, according 
to their population. Each member is chosen by the elec- 
tors of the representative district in which he is elected. 

The House of Representatives has the sole right to insti- 
tute impeachment proceedings against State officers charged 
with misdemeanors ^ and to originate bills for raising rev- 
enue.'^ 

36. The Senate. — The senatorial districts are made by 
combining counties, except in the case of counties having 
unusually large populations, when the county is made the 
district. This is the case with eleven counties. The num- 
ber of senators in each district is determined by the popu- 

* See Art F. for the provisions of the Constitution relating to the 
General Assembly. ^ See note 2, page 30. 

3 See Art XIIL Sect. 1. ' See Art. F. Sect. 31. 



!l^-J&.'li!*> 



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b 
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t3>3 t^j y^ 






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34 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

lation. In forming a district no county may be divided. 
In 1891 the State was divided by the General Assembly 
into twenty-eight senatorial districts.^ Each senator is 
chosen by the electors of the senatorial district in which 
he is elected. 

In every even-numbered year the terms of one-half of 
the senators expire and their successors are elected. By 
this provision of the Constitution, one-half of the senators 
are ^' hold-overs," or persons with legislative experience. 

All cases of impeachment of State officers charged with 
crimes and misdemeanors in office are tried by the Senate.*^ 
Most of the appointments to office made by the governor 
require the consent of the Senate. 

37. Organization of the Two Houses. — Each house 
elects its own officers, except that the lieutenant-governor is 
ex'officio president of the Senate. He is not a member of that 
body and votes only in case of a tie. The Senate elects one 
of its own members as president pro tempore, who acts as 
president when the lieutenant-governor is absent. 

The presiding officer in the House is called the speaker, 
who votes as a member. 

Among other officers and employes of each house are 
clerks, who have charge of bills ; the sergeant-at-arms, who 
keeps order and compels the attendance of absent mem- 
bers, when so ordered by the house ; the doorkeepers, who 
guard the doors; the chaplain, who opens the sessions 
with prayer ; and the pages, who wait on members while 
the house is in session. 

38. Committees. — An important part of the legislative 
work is done by committees. The usual subjects of State 
legislation fall into about thirty classes or groups ; such as 
judiciary, finance, ways and means, railroads, education, 
federal relations, etc. 

Committees having charge of these subjects are called 



^ See note 2, page 30. ^ g^^ j^^ xiIL Sect, 1. 



THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 35 

standing committees, because they have charge of a given 
class of subjects during the entire session. The commit- 
tees are formed early in the session, by election in the 
Senate and by appointment by the speaker in the House. 

A committee of conference is appointed in each house 
when differences arise between the two houses. The bus- 
iness of a committee of conference is to endeavor to har- 
monize these differences. 

There are also special committees appointed when neces- 
sary, which have particular subjects or bills referred to 
them for a special report. 

The committees exercise a guiding influence in legis- 
lation by deciding what bills are worthy of serious con- 
sideration by the members. The work of the various com- 
mittees in examining, and either approving, modifying 
or rejecting the different bills, greatly facilitates the trans- 
action of business by the General Assembly, which usu- 
ally acquiesces in the conclusions of its committees.^ 

39. Hew Laws are Made. — The metliod of making 
laws by the General Assembly of Colorado is essentially 
the same as by the Congress of the United States.^ 

All proposed laws, except for raising revenue, may orig- 
inate in either house in the form of bills. No bill may 
be amended or changed during its passage so as to alter 
its original purpose. A bill on being introduced into either 

^ Should either house desire that anv matter should be considered bv 
the whole house rather than by a committee, tlie house sits as a *' com- 
mittee of the whole." When so sitting the discussion is more informal 
than in the regular sessions of the house and is not restricted by the 
rules which apply to the regular sessions. When sitting as the com- 
mittee of the whole, the house is presided over by a chairman ap- 
pointed by the regular presiding officer, to serve for that occasion only, 
and matters are considered as they would be by a committee, rather 
than as they would be considered in a regular session of the house. 
The committee of the whole hears and considers bills on their second 
reading. 

2 See Art. V. Sects. 17-23. 



36 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO, 

house must be read by title and referred to the appropriate 
committee ; after its return from the committee it is printed, 
and must be read at length on two different days. If a 
bill is materially amended it is ordered reprinted. When 
any changes or amendments to a bill are made in the other 
house the bill must be returned for approval to the house 
in which it originated. Before a bill is declared passed, it 
must have a majority vote of all the members of each 
house; the final vote on the bill must be taken by the 
ayes and noes^ and the names of those voting, and how 
they voted, be entered on the journal. 

Every bill passed by both houses is signed by the speaker 
of the House, and by the president of the Senate in the 
presence of the members, and is then sent to the governor. 
If he signs the bill, it becomes a law, and is filed with the 
secretary of State for safe-keeping. If the governor does 
not approve of the bill he vetoes it, that is, he returns it 
to the house in which it originated with his reasons for 
objecting to it. If both houses re-pass the bill by a two- 
thirds vote of all the members, it becomes a law without 
the approval of the governor. If the governor fails either 
to sign or to return the bill within ten days after it has 
been presented to him, it becomes a law unless the Gen- 
eral Assembly, by adjourning, prevent its return, in which 
case it becomes a law unless the governor files the bill, 
with his objections, in the office of the secretary of State 
within thirty days after the adjournment of the General 
Assembly.^ 

The Constitution provides that the governor may veto 
any item or items of a bill making appropriations of 
money, when the bill embraces distinct items ; the items 
disapproved are void unless reconsidered and passed in 
the manner of passing bills over the executive veto. 

A law does not go into effect until ninety days after its 

1 See Art. V. Sects, 17-23, Art, IV. Sect 11. and Art. V. Sect. 39. 



THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 37 

passage, unless there is an ^' emergency clause," which 
must be voted on separately, and be approved by a two- 
thirds vote.^ Authority is given the secretary of State to 
collect and have the statutes published. State, district, 
county and precinct officers are provided with these 
printed laws gratuitously. 

40. Restrictions on La-w-making*. — There is a con- 
stantly increasing tendency on the part of General As- 
semblies to legislate on a multiplicity of subjects. This dis- 
position on the part of a legislature prompted the framers 
of our Constitution to hedge the General Assembly with 
many limitations. These limitations supplement the re- 
strictions on State legislation found in the Constitution 
of the United States. The " Bill of Rights " prohibits the 
General Assembly from disturbing the individual in the 
right of *^life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."^ 
Probably the chief reason for so many restrictions being 
placed around the General Assembly is because responsi- 
bility for vicious or special legislation is not easily fastened 
upon individual members.'* These restrictions, together 
with the check which each house exercises upon the other, 
and the executive veto, materially restrain and circum- 
scribe the legislative power. 

1 See Art. V. Sect. 19. 

2 See Art. 11. The " Bill of Rights " enumerated in the United States 
Constitution (the first ten amendments) is repeated in most of the State 
Constitutions, since it is heki that the limitations in these matters in 
the Federal Constitution apply only to the Federal government and not 
to the State governments. 

^ Great pressure is brought to bear upon members of the legislature 
to pass bills favorable to certain localities, individuals or special interests ; 
hence, constitutional limitations prohibiting such legislation are a pro- 
tection to members against undue solicitation in behalf of selfish or 
local ends. For the specific restrictions on legislative action, see Art. V. 

D 



38 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

The Executive Department. 

41. The Executive Department consists of seven offi- 
cers: the governor, the lieutenant-governor, the secretary 
of State, the State auditor, the State treasurer, the attorney- 
general and the superintendent of public instruction.^ All 
these officers are elected by popular vote at the general 
State election, held in even-numbered years. They hold 
their offices for two years from the second Tuesday in Jan- 
uary after their election ; ^ their compensation is fixed by 
law and cannot be increased or diminished during the 
term for which they are elected. The scope and author- 
ity of each of the State officers are carefully defined. The 
executive officers, with the exception of the lieutenant- 
governor, are required to reside at the State capital. 

42. The Governor is the supreme executive officer. As 
chief executive, it is his duty to see that the laws are 
faithfully executed and to preserve peace and order. He 
is commander-in-chief of the militia of the State except 
when it is engaged in the service of the United States; 
with the consent of the Senate, he appoints the principal 
officers of the State that are not elected by the people, 
and the members of the boards of the various State 
institutions^ except the regents of the State University. 
He has power to remove any person whom he appoints 
"for incompetency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in 
office." He is empowered, under certain restrictions, to 
fill vacancies that may occur in office.^ When occasion 
requires he issues writs for special elections. He may de- 
mand fugitives from justice in this State from the exec- 
utive of any other State, and upon the requisition of the 
governor of another State may issue warrants for the arrest 

^ For the qualifications of State officers see Art. IV. Sect. 4- 
^ See Art. IV. Sect. 1. For salaries of State officers see Appendix, 
page 150. 

3 See page 44. * See Art, IV, Sect, 6, 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 39 

of fugitives found in this State. On the recommendation 
of the board of pardons ^ he may grant pardons, reprieves, 
and commutations for crimes except in cases of treason 
and impeachment. The board of pardons is simply an 
advisory board. 

In legislation it is the duty of the governor to transmit 
to the General Assembly, by message, information con- 
cerning the condition of the State, and to indicate a gen- 
eral policy of legislation by recommending such measures 
as he may deem expedient ; he convenes extra sessions of 
the General Assembly when necessary and has the power 
to adjourn the General Assembly if the two houses can- 
not agree as to the time of adjournment; he examines 
all bills submitted to him by the legislature, signs those 
which he approves and either allows the others to become 
laws without his signature or vetoes and returns them to 
the house in whicli they originated. 

The power which the governor holds in relation to the 
legislative and judicial departments of the government be- 
longs to him peculiarly as chief executive of the State.^ 

43. The Lieutenant-Governor. — The Constitution pro- 
vides that in case the governor, for any cause or disabil- 
ity shall be removed, the duties of the office shall devolve 
upon the lieutenant-governor. In case of the disability 
of the lieutenant-governor, the duties of the office devolve 
upon the president 'pro tempore of the Senate, and after 
him, upon the speaker of the House. The lieutenant- 
governor is ex officio the president of the Senate.^ He is 
not a member of the Senate and votes only in case of a tie. 

44. The Secretary of State. — Chief among the duties 
of the secretary of State is the preservation of State 
records. All public records, reports, laws and resolutions 
are enrolled in his office. He publishes the laws and jour- 

1 See § 6, page 44. ^ g^^ Art IV. Sects. 5-12. 

3 See Art. IV. Sects. 13-15. 



40 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

nals of the General Assembly, proposed amendments to 
the Constitution, and the reports of State officers and 
boards ; he gives notice to the county clerks of State and 
National elections, of the offices to be filled, and the names 
of the various nominees certified to him ; he receives the 
election returns for all offices higher than the county ; the 
returns for executive State officers he transmits to the 
General Assembly and the others to the State board of 
canvassers ; at the direction of the State canvassing board 
issues certificates of election ; he submits to the decision 
of the electors all proposed amendments to the Constitu- 
tion; he attests all proclamations, commissions and other 
documents issued by the governor, and as evidence of 
their authority, stamps them with the great seaP of the 
State, of which he is the custodian ; he is the purchasing 
agent and custodian of all stationery and supplies for the 
General Assembly and State officials; he has charge of 
the Capitol building ; he issues and keeps a record of the 
charters of corporations, such as railroad, telegraph, tele- 
phone, manufacturing and banking companies, colleges, 
and of private corporations organized for business or for 
charitable or social purposes ; and he conducts all official 
communications with other States and with the United 
States. 

45. The State Auditor issues warrants or orders on 
the State treasurer for the payment of salaries of State 
officers, members of the General Assembly, clerks and 
other employes in State offices, and for all moneys au- 
thorized by law to be paid by the State treasurer; he 
makes a semi-annual report to the superintendent of 
public instruction of the amount of the State school 
fund, and after this has been apportioned by the super- 
intendent of public instruction among the various coun- 
ties of the State, the State auditor issues warrants on the 

^ See page 28. 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, 41 

State treasurer for the payment of the same to the various 
county treasurers ; he issues certificates to insurance com- 
panies authorizing them to transact business in the State 
and has general supervision of their business; he may 
revoke the certificate should a company violate any of the 
insurance laws of the State. No person may serve as 
State auditor for two consecutive terfns. 

46. The State Treasurer receives and keeps in charge 
all money belonging to the State not otherwise provided 
for, and pays out the same upon warrants issued by the 
State auditor; he countersigns and keeps a record of all 
warrants issued by the State auditor ; he makes daily and 
monthly reports to the State auditor of the money received 
and paid out, and the warrants registered by him ; he is 
required, by law to publish a quarterly report of all moneys 
received by him, of the places wherein the money is de- 
posited and the number and amount of every warrant 
paid by him during the preceding three months ; he 
keeps a separate account of each fund in his charge. 
His books are subject to examination by a committee 
appointed by the governor ; he is authorized to loan the 
money of the State, for the benefit of the State, at the 
highest rate of interest he can obtain with satisfactory 
security. No person may serve as State treasurer for 
two consecutive terms. 

47. The Attomey-G-eneral is the law officer of the 
State. It is his duty to defend the State in all suits that 
may be brought against it, and to prosecute in the proper 
court any claims made by the State against any person, 
corporation, other State, or the government of the United 
States ; he is also required to give official opinions upon 
legal questions submitted by the governor, the heads of 
the State departments and various other oflBcers through- 
out the State on matters relating to their respective offices. 

48. The Superintendent of Public Instruction has 
general supervision of the public schools of the State ; he 



42 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLOEADO. 

counsels with county superintendents and other school 
officers and persons in matters involving the welfare of 
the schools; his decisions touching the school laws are 
final until set aside by legal authority or by legislation ; 
he furnishes county superintendents with lists of ques- 
tions to be used in examining persons who desire to 
become teachers in the public schools, and prescribes 
regulations concerning their use, in order to make the 
examinations uniform throughout the State; he appor- 
tions the public school income fund among the various 
counties ; he furnishes blanks and forms for the use of 
subordinate officers and teachers ; he compiles and dis- 
tributes the State school laws ; he makes a biennial report 
setting forth the condition of the schools, with suggestions 
concerning their improvement ; he is ex officio a member 
of the State land board, State librarian, a trustee of the 
State normal school and one of the examiners of its can- 
didates for graduation. 

49. Administrative Boards and Appointed OflScers. 
— A number of State boards have been created from time 
to time, for the performance of particular duties. These 
boards and officers are as follows: 

Ex-oFFicio Boards. 

1. The State Board of Canvassers (governor, secretary of 
State, treasurer, auditor and attorney-general) canvasses the elec- 
tion returns for the election of all National officers voted for in 
the State, also the vote for all officers above the county excepting 
the executive officers of the State.^ 

2. The State Board of Education (superintendent of pub- 
lic instruction, secretary of State, and attorney-general) makes 
regulations for the government of the public schools, grants State 
diplomas which are good for Hfe, to all persons recommended by 
the State board of examiners, and hears appeals from the decis- 

^ The General Assembly canvasses the election returns for the execu- 
tive officers of the State. 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 43 

ions of county superintendents. There is no appeal from the 
decision of this board. 

3. The State Board of Equalization (governor, secretary 
of State, treasurer, auditor and attorney-general) equalizes assess- 
ment of property made in the several counties of the State, by 
adding to or subtracting from the assessment in each county such 
a percentage as may be necessary to secure a uniform rate of 
assessment throughout the State, but it has no power to increase 
or decrease the total valuation for the State as returned by the 
assessors. 

It is also the duty of this board to assess the telephone, tele- 
graph and railroad lines of the State for the purpose of taxation, 
and to make a report of the same to the county clerks of the 
various counties of the State. 

4. The State Board of Land Commissioners (governor, 
secretary of State, superintendent of public instruction and the at- 
torney-general) has charge of all the lands belonging to the State, 
selects and surveys lands granted by the United States, prepares 
maps of the same, and has power to lease and sell the school- 
lands. 

5. The State Board of Examiners (the superintendent of 
public instruction, the presidents of the State University, the State 
School of Mines and the Agricultural College) prepares examina- 
tion questions, conducts State examinations of teachers and rec- 
ommends to the State board of education applicants worthy to 
receive State diplomas. 

Other State Boards.* 

1. The State Veterinary Sanitary Board. — The duty of 
this board is to make and enforce such measures as will prevent 
the introduction and spread of infectious and contagious diseases 
among stock. 

2. The State Board of Inspection.— In order to prevent 
the illegal slaughtering or shipping of cattle, this board appoints 
and locates cattle inspectors and furnishes them with lists of the 
various brands registered with the secretary of State. 

^ The members of the various State boards and bureaus are appointed 
by the governor with the approval of the Senate, except when other- 
wise indicated. 



44 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

3. The State Board of Agriculture. — This board is com- 
posed of the governor of the State, the president of the Agricul- 
tural College and eight other persons. 

The purpose of this board is to promote the general interests 
of agriculture in the State. This work is done in connection with 
that of the Agricultural College. 

4. The State Board of Horticulture consists of six mem- 
bers appointed by the governor. It has for its object the promo- 
tion of horticulture, pomology, arboriculture and floriculture.^ 

5. The Board of Charities and Corrections consists of 
the governor and six other members appointed by him. It has 
power to investigate and make suggestions concerning jails, pen- 
itentiaries, reformatories, reform schools, infirmaries, hospitals and 
asylums, wholly or in part supported by the State or its subdi- 
visions. 

6. The State Board of Pardons is composed of the gov- 
ernor and five other members appointed by him. It is the duty of 
this board to investigate all applications for executive clemency, 
and to lay the facts before the governor with its recommendation 
as to what action should be taken. 

7. The Colorado Historical Society is an organization 
semi-official in character, which has a room assigned to it in the 
Capitol building, and part of its expenses paid by the State. 
It has for its object the collection of papers and documents 
which bear on the history of the West in general and of Colo- 
rado in particular. 

8. Other State Boards. — The duties of the State board of 
medical examiners, the State board of health, the- State board of 
pharmacy, the bureau of mines, the coal mine inspector, the State 
board of arbitration, and the State board of dental examiners are 
indicated by their titles. 

The Boards of State Institutions. 
1. The public institutions of the State are the University of Colo- 
rado at Boulder, the State Agricultural College at Fort Collins, the 
State School of Mines at Golden, the State Normal School at Gree- 
ley, the School for the Deaf and the Blind at Colorado Springs, the 

^ On the petition of fifteen owners of orchards the county commis- 
sioners of any county may appoint a county board of horticulture ; this 
board consists of three persons and is auxiliary to the State board. 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, 45 

State Industrial School at Golden, the State Home and Industrial 
School for Girls and the State Home for Dependent and Neglected 
Children at Denver, the State Penitentiary at Cafiou City, the Colo- 
rado State Reformatory at Buena Vista, the Soldiers' and Sailors' 
Home at Monte Vista, and the Asylum for the Insane at Pueblo. 

For the management of each of these institutions a board of 
trustees is appointed by the governor, usually with the consent of 
the Senate, except in the case of the State university, which is 
under the supervision of "The Regents of the University of 
Colorado," a board of six members, elected by the voters of the 
State. 

The State Capitol is located at Denver. Its erection is under 
the direction of a board of Capitol managers. 

Administrative Officers. 

1. The State veterinary surgeon, the State geologist, the State 
game and fish warden and the dairy commissioner are appointed 
by the governor. The State measurer of printing and the deputy 
commissioner of labor statistics are appointed by the secretary of 
State ; the deputy State librarian by the superintendent of public 
instruction ; and the deputy superintendent of insurance by the 
State auditor. The duties of these officers are indicated by their 
titles. 

2. The State Eng-ineer and His Subordinates. — There 
are six water divisions^ in the State, for each of which a super- 
intendent of irrigation is appointed at the request of the county 
commissioners of any county in the division. He sees that the 
laws relating to the distribution of water are complied with, and 
he receives and transmits the reports of water commissioners to 
the State engineer. 

The water divisions for irrigating purposes are subdivided into 
water districts, and the governor appoints a water commissioner 
for each district. The commissioner divides the water among the 
ditches according to priority of right. The laws are very strin- 
gent in regard to the use of water. The commissioner has power 
to arrest any person violating his regulations. 

The State engineer has supervision of the water commission- 

* These divisions are: 1. South Platte division. 2. Arkansas division. 
3. Rio Grande division. 4. San Juan division. 5. Grand River division 
6. Green River division. 



46 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

ers and superintendents of irrigation, and prescribes regulations 
governing their duties. He surveys and locates State roads, 
bridges, ditches and reservoirs. 

Notaries Public. 

The governor may appoint as many notaries as he thinks neces- 
sary. A notary is empowered to administer oaths, attest signatures 
and take depositions and acknowledgments of documents. All 
such papers, when attested by a notary, are admitted by the courts 
as legal evidence. 

50. The Militia. — All able-bodied male citizens of the 
State between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, 
who are not exempted by law, belong to the enrolled mili- 
tia, but they are not called upon to perform military duty 
unless when in case of war, rebellion, or invasion, a suffi- 
cient number of volunteers cannot be had. The organized 
militia is known as the National Guard of the State, and 
is composed of volunteers from the enrolled militia ; the 
National Guard is uniformed, armed, and equipped at the 
expense of the State, and is drilled in conformity with 
the system employed in the United States army.^ 

It is the duty of the National Guard to respond to any 
call from the governor to aid in suppressing riots, mobs 
and tumults.^ The National Guard at such times is the 
preserver of peace and good order.^ 



1 See Art. XVIL ^ See ? 69, page 63. 

* In 1895 the National Guard consisted of one brigade numbering 833 
men, including officers. The authorized strength of the national guard 
is 2861 men, including officers. There are 85,000 persons in the State 
Hable to mihtary duty. 



THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 47 

The Judicial Department. 

61. The Judicial Power of the State is vested in the 
supreme court and in the court of appeals in the State ; in 
the district courts in the judicial districts ; in the probate 
or county courts in the counties ; in the police or munici- 
pal courts in the cities; in the justices' courts in the pre- 
cincts ; and in such other courts as may be created by the 
General Assembly/ All courts except the police courts 
and the justices' courts are known as " courts of record."^ 

52. The Supreme Court consists of three judges chosen 
by the electors of the State to serve for nine years and 
until their successors are elected and qualified. The judge 
longest in service is the chief-justice.^ In case of a vacancy 
in the supreme court the governor appoints a judge to fill 
the vacancy. Three terms of the supreme court are lield 
annually at Denver. 

The supreme court is authorized to issue various writs, 
and to hear and determine them, for the purpose of cor- 
recting abuses and preventing violations of the law. In 
these cases it decides only on matters of law ; matters of 
fact are referred to a low^er court and are tried by a jury. 

The jurisdiction of the supreme court extends over 
the entire State and is both original and appellate^ The 

^ See Art. VL Sects. 1, 24. 

' The local courts are described in this chapter in order to give a 
view of the judicial system as a whole. 

^ For the qualifications of a judge of the supreme court, see Art. 
VL Sect. 10. 

* By the jurisdiction of a court is meant its authority to hear and 
decide cases brought before it. The jurisdiction of a court may be 
either original, appellate, exclusive or concurrent. 

By the original jurisdiction of a court is meant its authority to hear 
and decide cases which originate or are first brought to trial in that 
court. By the appellate jurisdiction of a court is meant its authority to 
hear and decide cases that have been previously tried in a lower court, 
and which have been appealed to a higher court for further trial. If 



48 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO, 

original jurisdiction of the supreme court is its power to 
decide cases that have not previously been tried by a lower 
court ; it is exercised in cases of habeas corpus or cases in 
which persons confined or imprisoned petition the court 
to decide whether their imprisonment is lawful;^ in cases 
commanding a lower court, a corporation, or an individual 
to perform some particular act; in cases when the election 
of any person to the office of judge of the supreme, the 
district or the county court, or of presidential elector is 
contested ; and in cases in which the constitutionality of 
any law enacted by the General Assembly is questioned. 
The supreme court is required to give its opinion on im- 
portant questions on solemn occasions, when requested 
either by the governor, the House of Representatives or 
the Senate. 

The jurisdiction of the supreme court is chiefly appel- 
late, which is its power to decide cases that have been 
tried by a lower court and have been appealed to it for 
final decision. When a case is appealed to the supreme 
court it is usually on the ground of reasonable evidence of 
error in the interpretation or application of the law in the 
previous trial by the lower court. As it is a question of 
law which is to be decided, a jury is not required. The 
evidence given in the lower court and a record of the case 
are submitted to the court in printed form. The opinion 
of a majority of the judges forms the opinion or decision of 
the court, which is final, unless the court should reverse its 
opinion, or unless the case involves the Constitution and 

the law provides that certain classes of suits may be tried only in a 
certain court, tlien that court has exclusive jurisdiction in such cases ; 
if the suits may be begun in any one of two or more courts, then those 
courts have concurrent jurisdiction. 

A court has /na/ jurisdiction when an appeal from its decisions may not 
be taken to a higher court. 

^ Each judge of the supreme court has the power to issue writs of 
hdbeas corpus. 



THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT, 49 

laws of the United States, when it may be appealed to th^ 
United States courts. The decision of the supreme court 
either sustains the decision, modifies it, or affirms the 
error and sends the case back to the lower court for 
another trial. The decisions of the supreme court are the 
unwritten laws, and are the precedents for subsequent 
decisions by both the supreme court and the lower courts. 

The judges of the supreme court appoint a reporter who 
publishes the decisions of the court, and a clerk who at- 
tends to the clerical work of tlie court ; ^ they also appoint 
a committee of three lawyers in each judicial district to 
examine applicants for a license to practice law. On a 
favorable recommendation from this committee the court 
issues a license to the applicant. The clerk of the supreme 
court keeps a complete list of all the lawyers in the State.^ 

53. The Court of Appeals. — This court was created by 
the General Assembly in 1891. It was established to re- 
lieve the supreme court, which constantly had more cases 
on its docket than could be disposed of promptly. The 
court consists of three judges appointed by the governor 
to serve for six years. Their terms of service are so 
arranged that one judge is appointed every second year. 
The judge longest in service is the president of the court. 
Should a vacancy occur in the court of appeals, the gov- 
ernor appoints a judge to fill the vacancy. The terms of 
this court are held at the same time as the terms of the 
supreme court.' 

This court has jurisdiction to review the judgments of 
inferior courts in all civil cases and in all criminal cases 
not capital. It has jurisdiction, not final, in cases where 
the controversy involves a franchise or freehold, or where 
the construction of the Constitution of the State or of the 



^ See I 60, page 53. ^ g^^ J^^,^^ yj ^eds. 2-10. 

^ The judges of the court of appeals are required to have the same 
qualification as judges of the supreme court. 
4— Col E 



50 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

United States is involved. It has final jurisdiction in 
civil cases when the amount involved is two thousand 
five hundred dollars or less. Provision is made for the 
publication of the decisions of this court. 

54. The District Courts. — The State was originally di- 
vided by the Constitution into four judicial districts. The 
General Assembly has since increased the number to thir- 
teen.^ In each district at least one judge is elected by the 
voters to serve for six years.^ Should a vacancy occur in 
the district court, the governor appoints a judge to fill the 
vacancy. At least one term of the district court is held 
each year in each county of each judicial district. Spe- 
cial terms may be held at the option of the judge.^ 

Both civil and criminal cases are tried in the district 
courts. These courts have original jurisdiction in all 
cases, and appellate jurisdiction in cases appealed from 
the county courts.* 

55. The County Courts. — The Constitution makes pro- 
vision for the establishment of probate courts by requiring 
that in each county there shall be elected a probate judge 
to serve for three years.^ The chief work of the court 
consists in supervising the settlements of the estates of 

^ The following are the judicial districts, with number of judges : 1. 
Clear Creek, Gilpin, Jefferson and Grand counties. 2. Arapahoe coun- 
ty, five judges. 3. Las Animas, Huerfano, Prowers, Bent and Baca. 
4. Douglas, Elbert, El Paso, Cheyenne, Lincoln and Kit Carson, two 
judges. 5. Lake, Summit and Eagle. 6. La Plata, San Juan, Ar- 
chuleta, Dolores and Montezuma. 7. Delta, Mesa, Montrose, Gunni- 
son, Ouray, San Miguel and Hinsdale. 8. Boulder, Weld, Larimer, 
and Morgan. 9. Pitkin, Garfield, Routt and Rio Blanco. 10. Pueblo, 
Kiowa and Otero, two judges. 11. Fremont, Chaffee, Custer and Park. 
12. Conejos, Rio Grande, Saguache, Mineral and Costilla. 13. Wash- 
ington, Yuma, vSedgwick, Phillips and Logan. All districts except the 
second, fourth and tenth have one judge each. 

'^ For the qualifications of a district judge, see Art. VI. Sect. 16. 

' See Art. VL Sects. 11-W. * See Art. VI. Sect. 11. 

^ For the qualifications of a county judge, see Art. XIV. Sect. 10. 



THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 51 

deceased persons, and in appointing guardians for children 
and incompetent persons.^ 

The county court has original jurisdiction in divorce 
cases ; in civil cases, when the amount involved does not 
exceed two thousand dollars ; in misdemeanor cases ; and 
in the contested election of all precinct and county officers, 
except county judge. The appellate jurisdiction of the 
county court consists in hearing appeals from the justices' 
courts and the police courts. In a suit before the county 
court either party may demand a jury .^ An appeal may 
be taken from the decision of the county court to the dis- 
trict court or to the supreme court. Should a vacancy 
occur in the office of county judge, the county commis- 
sioners appoint a judge to fill the vacancy. 

In 1883 the General Asseml)ly established county crim- 
inal courts in Arapahoe, Pueblo and Lake counties. Tliis 
action was repealed in 1891.' 

56. Police Courts. — In cities of the first class * the coun- 
cil elects a police magistrate, who holds a municipal court 
known as a police court; in cities of the second class the 
police magistrate is elected by the voters. In cities of more 
than fifty thousand inhabitants the governor, with the con- 
sent of the Senate, appoints the police judge. In incorpo- 
rated towns the police magistrate is appointed by the town 
trustees. The police court has jurisdiction in all cases aris- 
ing under the city ordinances. An appeal from the decis- 
ion of the police court may be taken to the county court. 

^ When a person dies without leaving a will, it is the duty of the pro- 
bate court to appoint an administrator to settle the estate and to distribute 
the property as the law directs. All the transactions of the adminis- 
trator must be examined and approved by the court. When a person 
dies leaving a ^vill disposing of his property, the will must be sub- 
mitted to the probate court for decision as to its legality and genuine- 
ness ; if approved, it is recorded, and it becomes the duty of the court 
to see that its provisions are strictly carried out. 

2 See Art VL Sects. 22, 23. ' ^ See Art VI. Sect. 24. 

* See 2 85, page 68. 



52 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

57. Justices' Courts. — The humblest court in the land, 
the court upon which all other courts are founded, and the 
court of greatest antiquity, is the justice's court. 

The county is divided by the county commissioners 
into various precincts, called justices' precincts. In these 
precincts a justice of the peace and a constable are elected 
every year. The term of office is two years. By this 
arrangement each precinct has two justices and two con- 
stables.^ Justices of the peace have jurisdiction in civil 
cases in which the amount in dispute does not exceed 
three hundred dollars, except when the boundaries or the 
title to land are in question, in which case they have no 
jurisdiction. They are authorized to hear and determine 
cases of misdemeanors and minor violations, such as as- 
sault and battery and petit larceny. They act also as ex- 
amining magistrates to determine whether persons arrested, 
charged with serious crime, shall be held for trial in a 
higher court. If, on the examination of witnesses there 
is found evidence of guilt, the case is sent to the district 
court for trial and the accused person may be released 
on giving bail or security to appear in court when sum- 
moned. If the crime is one which is not bailable, such as 
murder, or if the accused person fails to give satisfactory 
security to appear in court when summoned, he is sent to 
the county jail, where he remains until the case is tried, 
unless he is released on a writ of habeas corpus.'^ 

A jurj^, usually of six men,^ is summoned by the consta- 
ble on the writ of the justice of the peace, when either 
party to a suit demands a jury. A change of venue may 

^ In 1891 the General Assembly enacted a law which provides that 
in precincts having a population of more than 20,000 the county com- 
missioners may appoint one additional justice and constable for each 
20,000 inhabitants. (See Art XIV. Sect. 11.) 

^ A writ of habeas corpus is an order issued by a judge directing that 
the accused person be brought into court, that the cause of his imprison- 
ment may be inquired into. 

' The jury may consist of from three to twelve men. 



THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT, 53 

be taken to the court of the nearest justice.^ An appeal 
may be taken from the decision of the justice's court to 
the county court. The justice of the peace is empowered 
to issue warrants, to solemnize marriages, to administer 
oaths, and to attest signatures. In case there is no coroner 
or in case of the disability of the coroner, the justice acts in 
that capacity when inquests are to be held. 

58. The Constable has authority to serve writs and 
notices ; to make arrests when armed with proper war- 
rants ; and to make arrests without a warrant when a 
breach of the peace is committed, or a law violated in his 
presence, or when the person is a known criminal. 

59. Executive Officers of the Courts. — The executive 
officer of the supreme court and of the court of appeals, 
called the bailiff, is appointed by each of these courts. 
The county sheriff is the executive officer of the county 
and district courts ; the constable is the executive officer 
of the justice's court; and a policeman or the city marshal 
is the executive officer of the police courts. These officers 
execute the orders of the courts and have charge of juries 
and prisoners. 

60. Clerks of the Courts. — In all courts of record" and 
in police courts in cities of fifty thousand inhabitants, a 
clerk is appointed by the court."^ 

The clerks of the courts attend the sessions of the courts 
and make a record of their proceedings ; they issue subpoenas 
or notices calling into court such persons as the judges 
may direct to be present; the}^ call jurors and witnesses 
before the court and administer the oath to them ; they 
have charge of all papers and documents ; and when directed 
by the court, they issue writs in its name and affix its seal. 

^ To procure a change of venue, a party to a suit must make an 
affidavit that he believes the justice before whom the suit is brought 
is prejudiced against him. ^ See § 51, page 47. 

^ There is a clerk of the district court in each county of the judicial 
district. 



54 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

61. Attorneys. — Attorney s-at-law are, in a certain 
sense, officers of the courts, because they are admitted 
to practice in the courts of the State by the supreme 
court ; they must have a good moral character and a legal 
education. Attorneys are employed to conduct civil and 
criminal cases for the parties concerned in any suit. The 
attorney-general represents and appears for the people in 
the supreme court and in the court of appeals ; the city 
attorney in the police court ; the county attorney in the 
county and lower courts ; and the district attorney in the 
district court. 

The County Attorney acts for the county in all suits at 
law to which it is a party. He is required to give his opin- 
ion in writing, at the request of county officers, on mat- 
ters relating to the duties of their respective offices. He 
is appointed in each county by the county commissioners. 

The District Attorney. — Every third year a district 
attorney ^ is elected by the people in every judicial district 
of the State. He must be at least twenty-five years of age 
and possess the other qualifications of the district judge. 

The district attorney appears in behalf of the State 
and of the several counties of his district in all indict- 
ments, suits and proceedings which may be pending in 
the district court in any county within his district, wherein 
the State, or the people thereof, or of any county of his 
district may be a party. He appears at all inquests held 
in his district and at preliminary hearings when felony '^ 
is charged.'^ 

62. Trial by Jury. — The county commissioners furnish 



1 See Art. VL Sect. 21. 

^ In Colorado a felony is a crime the punishment for which is impris- 
onment in the penitentiary. A misdemeanor is a breach of the peace 
or a violation of law, the punishment for which is a fine or a short im- 
prisonment. 

^ The district attorney performs the duties of county attorney for 
any county in his district that may be without a county attorney. 



THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 55 

the clerk of the district court with a list of names from 
which he chooses jurors/ Persons selected as jurors must 
serve, unless excused by the judge. Jurors and witnesses 
are entitled to pay for their time ; they also receive mileage. 
Criminal cases are usually brought before the district 
court for trial by action of the grand jury, which is a 
body of twelve men. The grand jury hears the charges 
made against any person accused of crime, and if nine or 
more grand jurors believe that the evidence is sufficient to 
convict, an indictment or true bill is rendered and the ac- 
cused person is brought before the court for trial ^ before a 
petit jury of twelve persons.^ The grand jury is advised 



^ All male inhabitants of this State of twenty-one or more years of 
age, who are citizens of the United States or have declared their in- 
tention of becoming such citizens, and who have not been convicted of 
felony, are competent to serve as grand and petit jurors. 

'^ An accused person may also be brought before the court for trial on 
information of the district attorney, or as the result of a hearing before 
a justice of the peace. 

'^ A crime is a violation of law. The State enacts all the laws, hence 
a crime is regarded as committed against the State. All prosecutions 
are carried on in the name and by the authority of ''The People of the 
State of Colorado," and conclude ''Against the peace and dignity of 
the same." 

The State brings the suit against the person charged with the crime. 
The State is the plaintiff and the accused pei*son is the defendant. 

In a criminal suit the purpose of the trial is to determine the facts in 
the case, so that the decision of the judge rests upon the verdict of the 
petit jury. 

In selecting the names from the jurors presented to the court each 
side may challenge any number for cause, the court always determining 
whether the cause be a sufficient reason for excusing the juror from 
serving in the case. In addition to the challenges for cause, each side 
has a certain number of peremptory challenges. 

After the jury has been empanelled and sworn to render a decision 
according to the evidence, the prosecuting attorney presents the case 
before the jury and submits the evidence by whicli he intends to support 
the charge. 

The attorney for the defendant then states his case and submits the 



56 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

by the district and the county attorneys ; its sessions are 
secret and it hears no defense of accused persons.^ 

63. Trial by Impeachment. — The Constitution provides 
for another form of trial in cases of impeachment. 

The governor, and all other State and judicial officers, 
excepting county judges and justices of the peace, are 
liable to impeachment for high crimes or misdemeanors, 
or for malfeasance in office. It requires the concurrence 
of a majority of all the members of the House of Repre- 
sentatives to impeach an officer. Impeachments are tried 
by the Senate ; a two-thirds vote of the whole number of 
senators is required to convict an impeached officer. 

Upon conviction, the Senate can only remove the party 
from ofl&ce and disqualify him from holding any office in 



evidence in defense of the accused. The witnesses give their testimony, 
and are cross-examined by the attorney for the opposite side. When 
the evidence on both sides has been heard, the attorneys again ad- 
dress the jury seeking to interpret the facts. The judge then ^'charges 
the jury," explaining the law applicable to the case, after which 
the jury retires to consult upon the verdict. Their verdict must be a 
unanimous opinion and must be either ^^ guilty'^ or ^^not guilty.'' If 
guilty, the judge at some subsequent time, usually within a few days, 
pronounces sentence according to law ; if not guilty, the accused person 
is discharged. 

If the jury cannot agree, the case is again tried before another jury. 
The attorney for a person convicted of crime may ask for a new trial, 
which may or may not be granted, at the discretion of the judge. 

Civil suits are conducted in the same manner as criminal suits, except 
that there is no preliminary hearing. The plaintiff files a petition with 
the clerk of the court stating the cause of the suit and naming the per- 
son charged with the offense. The clerk issues a notice to the proper 
officer bidding the person complained of to appear in court and answer 
to the charge. If the trial is to be before a jury, the jury is empan- 
elled the same as in a criminal case. The details of procedure are the 
same as in a criminal case, except that the verdict is rendered ' ' For 
the Plaintiff," or *^For the Defendant." Provision is made for the 
losing party to make an appeal if permission is granted. 
1 See Art. XII. Sect. 5. 



STUDIES ON THE STATE GOVERNMENT 57 

the State in future. The party impeached, whether con- 
victed or acquitted, is Hable to a court trial according to 
law/ 



STUDIES ON THE GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE. 



THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

1. How is a law proved unconstitutional? 

2. To what committee would a bill providing for the support of the 
State Normal School be referred? 

3. What is the ''enacting clause" of a bill? 

4. In how many ways may a bill become a law? 

5. Why have two houses in the General Assembly ? 

6. When does the Senate become administrative in its functions ? 

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

1. To whom is the governor accountable? 

2. Where does he render his account? 

3. How is the appointing power controlled? 

4. What are the privileges of the lieutenant-governor in the Senate? 

5. Index the Constitution, showing all references to the executive. 

6. Name the State offices ; the administrative boards. 

7. Make a list of all institutions supported by the State. Give some 
reason for the existence of each. 

8. Why is the militia a part of the executive? 

THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

1. Why have long terms for judges? 

2. What significance do you attach to the fact that the judges of the 
court of appeals are appointed instead of elected? 

3. Why should the liigher court issue the writ of error ? 

4. Should or should not a verdict be rendered by a majority of a petit 
jury ? Give your reasons. 

5. What is meant by jurisdiction f By habeas corpus f 



1 See Art XIIl. 



CHAPTER IV. 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 

^>^00 

64. Local Government is the administration and con- 
trol of the public affairs of the county, the city, the town 
and the school district ; as in the preservation of the peace, 
the administration of justice, the construction of roads and 
bridges, the maintenance of common schools, the care of 
the poor, the assessment of property, the collection of 
taxes, sanitation, protection from fire, water supply, etc. 
For the purposes of local government, the State is divided 
into counties and school-districts, and certain communi- 
ties are organized as towns and cities. These various sub- 
divisions constitute political corporations which derive 
their powers from the Constitution and from laws passed 
by the General Assembly. 

The County. 

65. The County. — The State of Colorado is divided into 
fifty-six counties.^ New counties may be created by the 
General Assembly, but no part of any county may be 
added to an adjoining county without submitting the 
question to the qualified electors of the county whose 
territory it is proposed to reduce, and receiving the ap- 
proval of a majority of the electors.^ Each county is a 
corporation empowered to sue and be sued, to purchase, 
hold and convey real or personal property, and to exer- 
cise such other powers as may be conferred by law. 

^ See Appendix, page 148. ^ ggg ^^^, xiV. Sect. 3. 

58 



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60 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

The division of the State into counties, and our system 
of county government, had their origin in similar features 
that existed in England long before the Norman conquest ; 
but the officers of the county, or shire, as it was then called, 
were not chosen by the people : they were appointed either 
by the king or by a representative of the king.^ 

The Constitution of Illinois was largely followed by the 
first law-makers of this State in framing our State Consti- 
tution. Southern Illinois was originally settled mainly 
by immigrants from Virginia and Kentucky, who carried 
with them the idea of county government. At the time the 
Constitution of this State w^as framed, conditions were not 
favorable for both the county and the township — or mixed 
system — which prevails in most of the States. 

To have a successful township form of government the 
following conditions are necessary : 

(1) Dense population, with sufficient wealtli to maintain 
local government in addition to supporting the higher units 
of government. 

(2) People having similar ideas in relation to local gov- 
ernment. 

(3) People having permanent residences, thus creating 
a strong attachment for local or home institutions. 

(4) Convenient and easily accessible areas of land for 
establishing local government. The square is the most 
convenient form. 

^ The early colonists of this country brought with them from England 
the forms and customs with which they were familiar. England, before 
the Norman conquest, was divided into shires, a shire being a share or 
part of the whole country. The executive officer in the shire was the 
shire-reeve^ the predecessor of our sheriff; the power of the sheriff to 
call the posse comitatus to his aid may readily be traced to the old '^hue 
and cry." ^ When the Normans conquered England they changed the 
name of shire to county. In early English literature we may read of 
the ''crowner," an officer appointed by the Crown, who has his suc- 
cessor in the coroner of to-day. 

^ See Thorpe's Course in Civil Government^ ^ 50, page 27. 



THE COUNTY. 61 

(5) Only comparatively small tracts of land must be 
owned or occupied by each family. 

These conditions did not exist in Colorado at an early 
day, and exist now only in some localities. The miners con- 
trolled small tracts of land, but were unsettled, travelling 
about from one camp to another ; the people did not come 
to the State as compact colonies or settlements, but as 
individuals, in many cases without their families ; stock- 
raising required large areas of land ; agricultural lands ex- 
tended in elongated strips along the narrow valleys of the 
rivers; and the population was sparse and wealth scat- 
tered. 

In some localities in the mountains and in the parks of 
the State, conditions were favorable for the township sys- 
tem, but this system does not provide for the organization 
of intervening territory. Conditions favored the county 
system, w^hich prevailed and which has been continued 
without change. 

Q(j, The County Officers^ are the county commission- 
ers, the county clerk and recorder, the sheriff, the treas- 
urer, the assessor, the coroner, the surveyor, the superin- 
tendent of schools, the county judge, the justices of the 
peace and the constables, who are elected by the voters ; 
the county attorney who is appointed by the county com- 
missioners, and the clerks of the courts who are appointed 
by the courts.^ There are a few other officers who are 
appointed. All elective county officers are elected for a 
term of two years, except the county commissioners and 
the county judge, who are elected for three years.^ 

Most of the officers are required to keep their offices at 
the county-seat, a town selected temporarily by the Gen- 

1 See Art XIY. Sects. 6-15. 

^ The duties of the county judge, county attorney, clerks of the courts, 
justices of the peace and constables are described in Chap. III., the 
Judicial Department. 

^ For the qualifications of county officers see Art. XIY. Sect. 10. 

F 



62 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

eral Assembly when the county is organized, and after- 
ward permanently by a popular vote of the people, either 
on account of its importance or its favorable location. 

G7. The Board of County Commissioners consists of 
three members, but the Constitution provides that five 
commissioners may be elected when the population of a 
county shall exceed ten thousand.^ Each county is divided 
into as many commissioners' districts as there are commis- 
sioners in the county. Each district is represented by one 
commissioner, who must be a resident and an elector of 
the district in which he is elected. The commissioners 
are elected by the voters of the county at large, and from 
the different districts in turn. 

The commissioners have charge of all buildings belong- 
ing to the county ; levy the county tax, and act as a board 
to equalize taxation;'^ examine and adjust claims against 
the county ; furnish lists of jurors for the district court ; 
appoint judges of elections ; superintend the registration 
of voters ; appoint persons to minor county offices and 
fill vacancies in county and precinct offices, except that 
of county commissioner;^ divide the county into justices' 
precincts, into election precincts and into road districts; 
have supervision of the county roads ; care for the poor ; 
and in general have the management of all county 
business for which no other provision is made by law. 
The board cannot erect county buildings or levy a tax 
or borrow money for that purpose without submitting 
the question to a popular vote and securing popular ap- 
proval.'^ Meetings of the board are held at the county-seat 
on the first Monday of January, April, July, and October. 
Special meetings may be held when necessary. All meet- 
ings are open to the public.^ 

^ See Art XIV. Sect 6. ^ See Art. X. Sect. 15. 

3 See Art. XIV Sect. 9. * See Art. XL Sect. 6. 

5 At the first meeting of the commissioners after the annual election, 
the board elects one of its number as president, who presides at the 



THE COUNTY. 63 

68. The County Clerk and Recorder attends the ses- 
sions and keeps a record of the proceedings of the county 
commissioners ; countersigns all orders for tlie payment of 
money approved by the board ; keeps an account of re- 
ceipts and expenditures of the county and all accounts 
of the county with other officers ; prepares the official 
ballots for general elections ; issues marriage licenses and 
keeps a record of the marriages ; and has charge of the 
books in which are recorded all transfers of real estate. 
All deeds, mortgages and many other papers are by law 
required to be recorded in the office of the county clerk 
and recorder.^ 

69. The Sheriff is the executive officer of the county 
and of its courts of record. He appoints as many depu- 
ties as may be necessary to assist him in the discharge of 
his duties; he attends the drawing of jurors and summons 
them when drawn ; he has custody of the county-jail and 
is responsible for the safe-keeping of prisoners. It is his 
duty to preserve the peace, and for this purpose, in case 
of a riot, he may call to his aid as many persons as may be 
necessary. The persons summoned constitute a posse comi- 
tatits (literally, power of the county) or, more briefly, a 
posse. If the posse is not able to quell the disturbance, 
the sheriff" may apply to the governor, who may send the 
entire National Guard of the State to the aid of the sheriff*, 
and if necessary may apply to the President, who ma}^ in 
that case employ the armed forces of the United States for 
the maintenance of the laws of the State. 



meetings of the board, signs all county warrants and bonds, and who is 
ex officio superintendent of the poor. The commissioners receive a com- 
pensation at the rate of five dollars a day, for time actually employed, 
and mileage. When a vacancy occurs in the board, it is tilled by appoint- 
ment by the governor. 

^ So important are the accuracy and exactness of the record, that the 
law requires the recorder to endorse on every document recorded in his 
office the date, the hour and the minute of its* entry on his books, and 
also the number and page of the book in which the record is made. 



64 THE CIVIL GOVEBNMENT OF COLORADO. 

70. The County Treasurer collects the taxes and re- 
ceives all other money paid to the county, and pays 
county orders or warrants issued by the county com- 
missioners. He is the disbursing agent for the various 
school districts of the county. 

71. The County Assessor is required to assess all tax- 
able property in his county except that assessed by the 
State board of equalization. The law requires that prop- 
erty shall be assessed at its actual value. The assessor 
also makes a list of persons liable to perform military 
duty. 

72. The Coroner. — The principal duty of the coroner 
is to hold an inquest upon the body of any person who 
may have met with a violent death, or who, it is believed, 
has died by unlawful means. When the coroner is noti- 
fied of such a case, he immediately summons six citizens 
of the county to act as a jury. If the jury find that 
a crime has been committed and name the person 
whom they believe to have committed it, the accused 
person may be arrested on the warrant of the coroner. 
In case of the death of the sheriff* or of his removal from 
office, the coroner acts as sheriff* until another sheriff* is 
chosen. 

73. The County Surveyor is elected to secure accu- 
racy in the construction of roads and bridges, and in the 
survey of land.^ 

74. The County Superintendent of Schools has gen- 
eral supervision of the public schools in the county, ex- 
cept those in cities which are organized under special 
charters, and in first-class districts. He holds public ex- 
aminations on the third Friday in August, December and 
March in each year, of persons desiring to become teachers 

^ See chap. xiii. p. 126 of Thorpe's Course in Civil Government, for an 
account of the method adopted by the United States for the survey of 
the pubUc domain. All of Colorado was public domain, and was sur- 
veyed by the United States. 



APPOINTED OFFICERS IN A COUNTY. 65 

in the public schools of the county.^ He is required to visit 
the schools in the county at least once during each quarter 
that they are in session, and to give such directions and 
suggestions as to the course of study and general manage- 
ment as the interests of the schools seem to require. It 
is his duty to decide controversies arising in the admin- 
istration of the school law in the county. He establishes 
and changes the boundaries of school districts, apportions 
the general school fund among the various districts, exam- 
ines and corrects the books required to be kept by the 
officers of the school district, organizes teachers' associa- 
tions, assists in the management of the district normal 
institute, makes an annual report of the condition of the 
schools to the superintendent of public instruction, and is 
ex officio commissioner of lands within his county, subject 
to the directions of the State board of land commissioners. 

Appointed Officers in a County. 

75. The County Attorney is appointed by the county 
commissioners.^ 

76. The Board of County Visitors is appointed by the 
county judge. The board consists of six members, at least 
three of whom must be women. It is the duty of the 
board to visit jails, reformatories and charitable institu- 
tions, and report their condition to the State board of 
charities and corrections.' 

77. The County Sheep Inspector is appointed by the 
State veterinary sanitary board, but is paid by the county 
commissioners. 

78. Road Overseers are appointed by the county com- 
missioners for the various road districts of the county. 

79. A County Board of Horticulture to act in con- 
junction with the State board may be appointed by the 

^ To all persons eighteen years of age or over, found competent, he 
issues a certificate of either the first, second or third grade. 

2 See I 61, page 54. ^ g^^ ^ g^ p^ge 44, and 1 131, page 91. 

5— CoL 



66 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

county commissioners on the petition of fifteen persons 
who own orchards. The board is assisted by a fruit in- 
spector appointed by the county commissioners. A bee 
inspector may be appointed by the county judge. 

The School District. 

80. The School District is the smallest civil division 
of the State. The county is divided, b}^ the action of the 
people interested and by the county superintendent of 
schools, into school districts independent of each other. 
Each district has its own school, which it may manage in 
its own way. It is designated as school district number 
— (such a number as the county superintendent may 

assign), county (the name of the county in which 

the district is located). State of Colorado. 

The number of districts in each county varies with the 
extent of the county and the population. 

81. The Annual School Meeting is held in each dis- 
trict on the first Monday in May at the school-house 
belonging to the district. Special meetings may be called 
when necessary. All persons having the qualifications of 
electors may attend and vote at the meeting. In districts 
of the third class, the voters, when assembled, may fix a 
site for each school-house ; order a tax on taxable prop- 
erty; provide for hiring teachers, and for furnishing fuel 
and text-books ; and transact such other business as tends 
to promote the interests of the schools.^ The school meet- 
ing, it will be seen, constitutes almost a pure democracy, 
like the New England town meeting.^ It is the only in- 
stance in the government of this State in which the people 
meet and make laws directly, instead of through their rep- 
resentatives. 

82. School Directors are elected in the various school 



^ Usually the management of the schools is left to the discretion of 
the school board. 

^ See Thorpe's Course in Civil Government^ ^ 91, page 51. 



MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT, 



67 



districts. In districts of the first class one director is 
elected each year, and serves for five years. In districts 
of the second and third classes, one director is elected each 
year, and serves for three years. The officers of the school 
board are : the president, the secretary and the treasurer. 
Only the secretary receives compensation (fifty dollars a 
year). 




City Hall, Denver, Colorado. 

Municipal Government. 

83, A city is an aggregation of people living in close 
contact, within a comparatively small territory. The 
necessarily intimate relations of individuals within a city 
give rise to special needs not felt by people scattered over 
a larger area. 

84. Incorporation of Cities and Towns. — All towns 
and cities of the State, except those acting under a special 



68 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO, 

charter, are organized or incorporated under the general 
law. 

When not less than thirty electors desire that the com- 
munity in which they live shall be incorporated as a town, 
they petition the county court for incorporation as a town, 
the location of which must be fully described and be 
shown by a map ; the court appoints a board of five com- 
missioners whose duty it is to hold an election, at which 
the electors of the proposed town are given an opportunity 
to vote either for or against incorporation. If a majority 
vote favorably, the commissioners hold another election 
at which the voters elect town officers. This completes 
the process of incorporation. 

85. Classiflcation of Cities and Towns. — The towns 
and cities of the State are divided into three classes as 
follows : 

First class, having a population of over 15,000 ; second 
class, having a population of 2000 to 15,000; third class, 
incorporated towns, having a population of less than 
2000.^ 

86. The Government of Cities. — For convenience in 
their government cities of the first and second class are 
divided by their councils into wards. 

The government of a city, like that of a State, consists 
of three departments. The mayor is the executive, the 
council is the legislative, and the police court ^ is the ju- 
diciary. 

87. The Mayor. — In cities of the first and second classes 
the mayor is elected biennially. It is the duty of the 
mayor to enforce all the laws and ordinances relating to 
the government of the city. He presides over meetings 
of the council and in cities of the first class either signs 
or vetoes the ordinances that are passed. An ordinance 

^ This classification does not include cities acting under special 
charters. ^ See I 56, page 51. 



MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. 69 

may be passed over his veto by a two-thirds vote of the 
council. In cities of the first class the mayor appoinis, 
subject to confirmation by the council, several city officers, 
and he may remit fines and grant pardons for offenses 
against the city ordinances. The efficiency of a city gov- 
ernment depends almost wholly on the honesty, energy 
and ability of the mayor. 

88. The Council. — Members of the council are called al- 
dermen. In cities of the first class one alderman is elected 
in each ward biennially ; in cities of the second class 
each ward has two aldermen, one being elected each year 
to serve for two years. The council has charge of the city 
finances, levies the city tax, and has power to pass laws 
for the government of the city. Laws passed by the coun- 
cil are called ordinances. They require for their passage a 
majority vote of the whcle number of aldermen. 

89. Other Officers of the City.— In cities of the first 
class the voters elect a treasurer, a clerk, an auditor, an 
attorney and an engineer. The council elects the police 
magistrate. 

In cities of the second class the voters elect a treasurer, 
a clerk, an attorney, a marshal, a police magistrate and a 
supervisor of streets. 

The mayor, with the approval of the council, appoints 
the superintendent of the fire department, the firemen, and 
the policemen. 

City officers are elected to serve for two years. The 
duties of the city officers are indicated by their titles. 

90. The City of Denver is organized under a special 
charter which grants greater powers than the general law. 
The council consists of two branches, the board of alder- 
men, which consists of one member from each ward, and 
a board of supervisors, which consisis of a board of five 
members elected by the voters of the entire city. The 
governor appoints a board of public works, a fire and 



70 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO, 

police board and the police magistrate.^ The government 
of Denver is the government of the State in miniature. 

91. Towns. — The officers of a town are the mayor and 
a board of six trustees who are elected by the voters, and 
usually a clerk, a treasurer, an attorney, a police magis- 
trate and a marshal, who are usually appointed by the 
board of trustees. The mayor is elected annually; three 
of the trustees are elected each year to serve for two years. 
The duties of the board of trustees are similar to those of 
the council of a city. The duties of the other officers are 
indicated by their titles. 



STUDIES ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 



^>e<o^» 

THE COUNTY. 
Make a summary for officers and boards showing the following : 



1. How CHOSEN. 

2. Number. 



3. Term of Service. 

4. Powers and Duties. 



THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. 

1. State the duties of district officers. 

2. Why should the school district be governed by local officers ? 

3. Is the government of the school district centralized ? 

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. 

1. Why should the question of the incorporation of a town be sub- 
mitted to popular vote ? 

2. What evils may result from allowing the council to share in the 
appointing power? 

3. Why should showmen be required to procure a license in cities ? 

4. What is the meaning of municipal ? 

^ See I 56, page 51. 



CHAPTER V. 

TAXATION. 
^XKoo 

92. Taxes. — The expenses of State and local govern- 
ment are paid almost wholly by means of taxes. Taxes 
are contributions imposed upon individuals and upon 
corporations, in other words, upon property, business and 
persons, for the support of the government and for other 
public purposes. 

93. The General Property Tax. — By far the most im- 
portant tax is that which is levied upon property. The 
law requires that all property, real and personal, not ex- 
pressly exempt, shall be subject to taxation.^ 

94. Assessment of Taxes. — It is the duty of the county 
assessor to assess all taxable property in his county on the 
first day of May in each year. In case the assessor fails 
to call upon the owner, the owner is required to make out 
and file in the office of the county assessor by the twen- 
tieth day of June in each year, a full and correct list of 
all his property subject to taxation. 

The law requires that all property shall be assessed at 
its actual value, but usually it is assessed at much less 
than its real value. The county assessor makes out the 
assessment roll, showing in alphabetical order the names 
of all persons whose property has been listed. 

^ Eeal property or real estate includes land and all things directly 
connected with land, such as buildings, improvements upon land, mines, 
quarries and the like. Personal property includes movable articles of 
every description, such as money, notes, bonds, mortgages, shares in 
corporations, etc. 

71 



72 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

All railway, telegraph, telephone and sleeping-car com- 
panies, owning or controlling property in the State, are 
required to furnish to the State board of equalization, a 
complete and detailed list of all their property within 
the State, prior to the first Monday in April of each year. 
On that day the State board of equalization meets and 
assesses such property. On or before the first of May, this 
board is required to report to the county clerk and re- 
corder of each county, containing any of the property 
assessed, the valuation assessed on such property in that 
county. 

95. Equalization of Taxes. — On the first Monday in 
July of each year, the board of county commissioners 
meets and equalizes the assessments made for that year 
by the county assessor. Whenever there is reason to 
think that the assessor has valued property unjustly or 
not in a uniform manner, the board lowers or raises the as- 
sessment as the case may be. If any considerable changes 
have been made in the assessment of any property, the 
owner is notified and he may appear at a subsequent 
meeting of the board, which is required to be held on 
the third Monday in July, when the board decides the 
matter finally. After all corrections have been made, the 
county assessor forwards an abstract of the assessment roll 
to the State board of equalization. This board meets on 
the first Monday of September in each year and equalizes 
the assessments made in the several counties in the State, 
increasing or decreasing the assessments in particular coun- 
ties by such a percentage as may be necessary to secure a 
uniform rate of assessment throughout the State. The 
board at this meeting may correct any previous error in 
the assessment of railroad, telegraph, telephone and sleep- 
ing-car property. 

96. The Tax Levy. — The General Assembly, at each 
regular session, passes an act to provide revenue for the 
next two years. This act levies a rate that will yield the 



TAXATION. 73 

amount appropriated for current expenses and for the in- 
terest on the State debt during the two years. The rate 
is based upon the assessment of the preceding year.^ 

The State auditor, upon the basis of the equalized 
valuation, determines the amount that each county must 
raise for State purposes, and certifies the same to the 
county clerk and recorder. 

When the assessment for the year is completed, the 
county commissioners of each county levy the county 
tax ; the council in each city levies the city tax ; the school 
meeting or the school board in districts of the third class, 
and the school board in districts of the first and second 
classes levy the school tax ; the rate in each case is 
certified by the proper officers to the county clerk.^ It 
now becomes the duty of the assessor to determine the 
amount of taxes payable by each person and corporation 
and to set down the amount opposite the names in the 
tax-roll. This work is completed and the tax-roll deliv- 
ered to the county treasurer by the first day of January. 

97. Collection of Taxes. — Taxes are payable to the 
county treasurer on or after January 1st. A tax-payer 
may pay his tax in full before March 1st, or he may pay 

^ Should the General Assembly fail to make the tax levy, it is made 
by the State board of equalization. The General Assembly provides 
for the fixed levies which are used for the State institutions, the Cap- 
itol building bonds and the stock-inspection fund. The State board of 
equalization levies the other State taxes, the maximum limit for all 
State purposes being four mills. 

2 The tax levy for a city like Greeley stands somewhat as follows : 

Mills. 

General State tax 4 

^' county '' • 8 

school ^' 4 

Special school *^ 12 

School bond '' 2 

City of Greeley '' ^ 

Total 56 

G 



74 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

half the amount before that date and the remainder any- 
time before August 1st. If the first half becomes delin- 
quent, interest is charged at the rate of one per cent, a 
month. If the second half becomes delinquent, interest 
is charged at the rate of one and one-fourth per cent, a 
month until the tax is paid. All taxes are delinquent 
after August 1st, and the county treasurer has power to 
sell personal property to satisfy the taxes on the same. 

Real estate upon which the taxes are not paid by Au- 
gust 1st may be advertised for sale August 20. This sale 
takes place on the first Monday in October or as soon there- 
after as practicable. Four weeks' notice must be given be- 
fore real estate is sold. Land offered for sale, which will 
not bring enough to satisfy the taxes, is purchased by the 
county treasurer in the name of the county. 

Land sold at tax sales may be redeemed within three 
years by the owner, upon the payment of the amount for 
which the land was sold and all subsequent taxes, with 
interest on both. As the taxes are collected, the county 
treasurer, at regular intervals, turns over to the State, to 
the county and to the city, the amounts levied by each. 

98. Other Taxes. — In addition to the general property 
tax, several other taxes are authorized by law. 

Licenses are taxes imposed upon persons engaging in 
special kinds of business, and hence are called occupa- 
tion taxes. 

Poll taxes are of three kinds : a military poll-tax of one 
dollar for the support of the State militia ; a general county 
poll-tax of one dollar for general county purposes ; and a 
road poll-tax of two dollars^ or, as an equivalent, two 
days' work on the public roads. The military and the 
general county poll-taxes are collected by the county treas- 
urer ; the road poll-tax by the road overseer. 

' This refers to the country. In towns the road poll-tax is regulated 
by the board of trustees, and in cities by the council. This tax is usu- 
ally three dollars. 



I 

I 



TAXATION. 75 

99. Other Income. — In addition to receipts from taxa- 
tion, there are several other sources of revenue to the* 
State, the most important of which are the interest on the 
pubHc school income fund, and the receipts from the sale 
and rentals on lands given to the State for various pur- 
poses by the Federal government. These lands are man- 
aged by the State land board. 

Fees are charges made by State or local officers for par- 
ticular services rendered to individuals. The amount that 
may be charged is fixed by hiw. The income that is de- 
rived from this source is considerable. Fees also include 
court costs. Some revenue is derived from escheats ^ and 
fines. All income intended for State purposes is collected 
by the proper officer and finds its way to the State treas- 
urer; all county income is paid to the county treasurer. 

100. Public Indebtedness. — The State and its various 
political divisions are authorized to borrow money on 
bonds, for the purpose of defraying extraordinary ex- 
penses and for making i)ublic improvements. Before 
bonds are issued the matter must be submitted to the 
electors and be approved by them.^ When issued, an an- 
nual tax must be levied to provide the means for paying 
the interest on the bonds and to create a fund for the pay- 
ment of the bonds when they become due. 

Warrants' are sometimes issued for the running expenses 
of the government until the taxes are collected. They are 
issued by the officers of the county, city or school-district 
and bear interest from date of registration until paid. It 
does not require a vote of the people to issue warrants. 

^ Escheats. — When a person dies leaving property, not having 
made a will and having no heirs to inherit the property, the State be- 
comes the heir, and the property escheats to the State — that is, it becomes 
the property of the State. 

2 See Art. XL 



76 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

STUDIES ON TAXATION. 

^-i^oo 

1. Give the various steps in levying and paying taxes from the time 
the schedule paper is left at the house by the assessor, until the taxes 
are paid. 

2. Should persons having no children pay taxes for the support of 
schools ? 

3. For what purposes are taxes raised in a city ? 

4. Mention a war caused by taxation. 

5. For what purposes are Stale taxes levied? 

6. Why should local taxes exceed State taxes ? 

7. How is a district school in Colorado supported? How many 
kinds of school taxes may be levied? 

8. Can you find the total valuation of property in your school dis- 
trict? City? County? State? 

9. Is any tax paid on your school house ? 

10. How does the assessed valuation of your home compare with its 
actual or market value ? 

11. What difference would it make in the rate, if it were assessed at 
its actual value ? 




High School, East Denver, Colorado. 



CHAPTER VI. 



PUBLIC EDUCATION. 



-^>0<o 



''Education consists in preparing an individual 
to enter readily, fully, and righteously into the 
real life about hi?7i/'—DB.. Z. X. Snyder. 

101. An orderly plan for the development of the school 
system of Colorado has been worked out in detail. Each 
part bears its proper relation to all the other parts, and 
the whole has its authority from the Constitution and 
from the laws that have been enacted from time to time. 



Elementary and Secondary Education. 

102. The Superintendent of Public Instruction has 
general supervision of elementary and secondary educa- 
tion. His work intimately concerns these schools. It is 
effected through the examination of teachers, the work of 
the normal institutes, reading circles, and educational 

77 



78 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO, 

lectures. He receives and publishes biennial reports of 
all the State educational institutions/ 

The county superintendent of schools is responsible for 
the direct supervision of the public schools and for cer- 
tificating efficient teachers.^ 

The boards of school directors are entrusted by the peo- 
ple with the business management of the schools in the 
school districts.^ 

103. The School System.— The schools of the State 
are organized under the district system. A school district 
is a body corporate having authority within a definite 
territory. The school district in order to receive its share 
of the State school fund must maintain a school at least 
three months in each year.* 

104. Rural Schools. — An effort is being made to 
establish a uniform grade in the rural schools. A State 
course of study of eight grades has been prepared by the 
State superintendent with the assistance of a committee 
of county superintendents. Upon the completion of the 
prescribed work of the eight grades, the pupil is given a 
diploma showing that he is a graduate of the rural schools. 

105. G-raded Schools. — The graded schools are usually 
under the direction of a superintendent. The ward schools 



1 See I 48, page 41. ^ g^^ | 74, page 64. » g^e g 82, page m. 

* See ^ 80, page QQ. There are a few districts in the State that are 
practically independent in their action. Such districts are acting under 
a special charter granted by the General Assembly. 

Districts that are united for the purpose of supporting high schools 
are termed union districts. Districts that cross county lines are termed 
joint districts and are under the supervision of the two county superin- 
tendents. 

School districts are divided into three classes: Th.^ first clasSj having 
a school population of 1000 or more; second class, having a school 
population of from 350 to 1000 ; thi7^d class, having a school popula- 
tion of less than 350. A person between the ages of six and twenty- 
one years is of school age. 



I 



ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION, 79 

in cities are under the charge of a principal who is sub- 
ordinate to the city superintendent. 

In 1893 the General Assembly made the kindergarten 
an integral part of the public school system. Under this 
law the school board of any district may establish and 
maintain free kindergartens for the instruction of children 
between three and six years of age. A high standard of 
efficiency is required of those proposing to teach in the 
kindergartens. 

106. The G-raded Elementary School embraces eight 
grades, each grade requiring one year for completion. The 
instruction is usually confined to orthography, reading 
writing, arithmetic, P]nglish grammar, geography, history, 
civil government, physiology with special reference to the 
effect of stimulants and narcotics, and some elementary 
work in tlie natural sciences. In some of the schools in- 
struction is given in gymnastics, singing, drawing, and sloyd. 

107. The Secondary School or High School embraces 
four grades, covering four years, and C(m)])]etes the w^ork 
of the elementary school. A higli school course of study 
has been adopted by the State Teachers' Association, and 
most of the high schools are attempting to approximate 
the work therein prescribed. The course of instruction in 
these schools furnishes the means for acquiring a ftiir 
general education, and in the more advanced schools, it 
meets the requirements for admission to the institutions 
of higher learning. 

108. Compulsory Education. — The State requires that 
every child betw^een eight and fourteen years of age shall 
attend either a public or a private school for at least twelve 
weeks in each school year, eight weeks of which must be 
consecutive. 

109. The Revenue for the support of the public schools 
is derived from State, county, and district sources. 

(a) The general school fund which is used for teachers' 
salaries is made up from State and county sources. 



80 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

(1) The State revenue for the general fund is derived 
from the proceeds of the public school investment fund ; 
from interest on the deferred payments of school lands; 
from proceeds arising from the lease of school lands ;^ and 
from escheats ^ and gifts. This State fund is apportioned 
among the various counties once in every six months by 
the superintendent of public instruction. 

(2) The county revenue for the general fund is derived 
mainly from a county tax of not less than two mills nor 
more than five mills, which the county commissioners are 
required to levy on all taxable property of the county. A 
considerable sum is realized from fines, penalties, and for- 
feitures. 

The general fund is apportioned by the county superin- 
tendent at regular intervals among the various districts in 
proportion to their school population. 

(h) The special school fund is derived from a special tax 
which the school board levies on the taxable property of 
the school district. In districts of the third class the 
highest limit is fifteen mills. Should the school board 
neglect to levy this tax, when needed, the county commis- 
sioners are required to levy it. 

110. The Licensing of Teachers. — A person holding 
a certificate, granted by lawful authority, is legally qual- 
ified to teach in the public schools of the State. County 
certificates are granted by the county superintendent 
to persons successfully passing an examination. Appli- 
cants are examined in the school law of Colorado, and 
in the subjects taught in the common schools.^ The 
questions are prepared and furnished to the county super- 
intendent by the superintendent of public instruction. 

The State board of education grants State certificates to 
persons successfully passing the State examinations, also 

* Sections sixteen and thirty-six of every township in the State were 
granted by Congress to Colorado for the support of the common schools. 
2 See note, page 75. ^ See §106, page 79. 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 81 

to persons who have rendered eminent educational services 
in the State for five years. These certificates are valid for 
life unless revoked for good cause. 

The State Normal School grants a life certificate to per- 
sons graduating from its full course.^ Districts of the first 
class are given authority to examine teachers.^ 

111. Special Schools are maintained by the State for 
the education of the unfortunate, vagrant, and criminal 
classes. 

The school for the unfortunate class, those who do not 
have possession of all the physical senses, is located at 
Colorado Springs, and is called the School for the Deaf 
and the Blind. This institution is not an asylum or 
hospital, but is a well-equipped school with a faculty of 
specialists. In the training of the blind, music as a means 
of education is emphasized. In both the deaf and the 
blind departments the training of the hand is cultivated. 

The State Industrial School,' and the State Industrial 
School for Girls* unite elementary manual training with 
the usual instruction in primary subjects, hoping thereby 
to make self-supporting citizens of the vagrant and crim- 
inal classes of boys and girls. 

Higher Education. 

112. The State institutions for higher education in Col- 
orado include the State School of Mines, the Agricultural 
College, the State Normal School, and, crowning the entire 
system, the State University. All except the State Normal 
School are included specifically in the Constitution.^ At 
the time of the adoption of the State Constitution the 

^ These certificates are valid in any public school in the State. The 
certificate may be revoked for cause. 

^ These certificates are valid only in the districts in which they are 
issued. 

3 See § 129, p. 90. * See § 130, p. 90. 

6 See Art. VIIL Sect. 5. 
6— Col 



82 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO, 

State Normal School was not an organized Territorial in- 
stitution. It should be classed as one of the constitu- 
tional institutions, as the Constitution provides for it in a 
general way, as follows : *' Educational .... institutions 
shall be established and supported by the State, in such 
a manner as may be prescribed by law."^ This school 
has been established by law, the authority for which is 
derived from the Constitution. Its board of trustees acts 
under the general direction of the State board of educa- 
tion, a constitutional board.^ 

These institutions of higher learning are as much a part 
of the educational system as are the common schools. No 
system of education is complete which stops with the mere 
rudimentary elements of learning. 

The subjects pursued in an institution of higher learn- 
ing have a direct bearing on the practical work of life. 
They aid directly in building up a strong and wise citizen- 
ship. The State recognizes that it reaps rich returns from 
the investments it makes in institutions of higher learn- 
ing. It would seem to be wise on the part of the State 
to insist that each institution should work out only the 
special line for which it was created. The State should 
see to it that each institution is given the highest fa- 
cilities for doing the most efficient work in its allotted 
field. 

113. The School of Mines is located at Golden. This 
school was established to make a practical application of 
science to mining and its kindred subjects. 

114. The Agricultural College. — This school is located 
at Fort Collins. Its object is to promote the practical edu- 
cation of the industrial classes, especially by instruction 
in agriculture and in the natural sciences connected there- 

^ See Art. VIIL Sect 1. 

^ The State Normal School is an integral part of the public school 
system by law and is placed on the same basis as to apportionment of 
the State school funds as are union high schools. 



84 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO, 

with. The work of the various agricultural experimental 
stations of the State is directed by this college/ The 
courses offered are: 

1. Agriculture; 

2. Mechanical Engineering ; 

3. Irrigation and Civil Engineering ; 

4. Ladies, or Domestic Economy ; 

5. A Business Course. 

115. The State Normal School is located at Greeley. 
Its aim is to reduce teaching to a science in the profes- 
sional training of teachers. The course embraces academic 
subjects, and theoretical and practical pedagogy.^ 

The work covers a period of four years. Students are 
admitted to the freshmen class from the eighth grade of 
the public elementary schools. Graduates of approved 
high schools are admitted to the junior class without ex- 
amination. All other applicants are examined for admis- 
sion, but the policy pursued is to give full credit for all 
w^ork satisfactorily . completed elsewhere. The following 
departments are maintained : 

1. Normal ; 

2. Model ; 

3. Kindergarten. 

Graduates are given diplomas, which are life certificates 
to teach in any public school in Colorado. 

116. The State University. — This institution is located 
at Boulder. Its departments are as follows : 

1. College of Liberal Arts ; 

2. Graduate Courses ; 

3. Colorado School of Applied Sciences; 



^ Farmers' institutes are held at various places in the State during the 
winter. The faculty of the Agricultural College is usually represented 
at these meetings. 

'^ District normal institutes are held in the State. They continue for 
a period of two weeks. These institutes tend to professionalize the work 
of teaching. 



» 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 85 

4. Colorado School of Law ; 

5. Colorado School of Medicine ; 

6. Preparatory School.^ 

117. Control and. Maintenance of State Schools. — 
Each of the State institutions, except the State University, 
is under the control of a board of trustees appointed by 
the governor. The University is under the control of a 
board of six regents elected by the voters of the State. 

The School of Mines, the Agricultural College, the School 
for the Deaf and the Blind, and the State University, each 
receive the proceeds of a direct tax of one-fifth of a mill 
on all taxable property in the State; the State Normal 
School receives one-sixth of a mill. Appropriations are 
made from time to time for buildings, improvements, and 
in some instances for maintenance. 

The State University receives also the revenue arising 
from the sale or rental of seventy-two sections of land 
granted by Congress. 

The Agricultural College was granted ninety thousand 
acres of land by Congress. This institution has also an 
appropriation from the treasury of the United States. 

Tuition, to residents of the State, is free in all the State 
schools. All the expenses of pupils at the School for the 
Deaf and the Blind are paid by the State. 

There are several sectarian institutions of higher learn- 
ing in Colorado that confer degrees. The most notable of 
these are the Colorado College (Congregational), at Colorado 
Springs, and the Denver University (Methodist), at Denver. 

The people of Colorado are noted for their deep interest 
in education. In most instances they tax themselves 
liberally for the support of the schools. 



^ The preparatory school will be discontinued as soon as practicable. 

H 



86 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

STUDIES ON PUBLIC EDUCATION. 



1. Index the Constitution, showing all references to educational af- 
fairs. 

2. What was the origin of school lands? 

3. How much land was given by Congress to the State University 
and to the Agricultural College respectively? 

4. From what sources are funds for the public schools derived ? 

5. What is the object of a diploma? 

6. Why does the State provide for public schools? 

7. Are you in favor of an educational qualification for voters ? 

8. Give the date of the annual school meeting in the school districts. 

9. On what basis are the State school funds apportioned among the 
school districts ? 

10. What is meant by '^ free text-books ' ' ? 

11. How many people of school age are there in your district ? How 
many attended school last year ? What did the school of your district 
cost last year ? How much of this money was spent for you ? How 
much did it cost to provide you one day's schooling? 

12. What is the value of school property in your district ; in your 
county ; in the State ? 



CHAPTER VII. 

BENEVOLENT, PENAL AND REFORMATORY INSTI- 
TUTIONS. 



118. It is characteristic of a highly developed civiliza- 
tion that the State ^ interests itself in the weak members 
of its society ; endeavors to improve the condition of the 
defective and dependent ; and enforces the laws against 
evil-doers. 

119. Classes. — The State must constantly care for the 
following classes : 

(1) The defective ; 

(2) The dependent ; 

(3) The delinquent. 

Benevolent Institutions. 

120. The Defective Class includes the insane, the 
blind, the deaf and dumb, and the feeble-minded. For 
all these, except the last named, Colorado makes provision. 

The insane may be divided into two classes: those 
needing special treatment, and those needing only care 
and oversight. For the latter the law provides conserva- 
torship, w^hich is secured through the county court.- If 
the court and jury decide that a person needs special 
treatment, application is made to the superintendent of 
the insane asylum for the admission of the afflicted per- 
son. This request must be granted if there are accom- 
modations for the patient. Colorado's Asylum for the 
Insane is located at Pueblo. 

1 See Art. VUI. Sect. 1-5. '' See ? do, page 50. 

87 



88 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO, 

121. The School for the Deaf and the Blind is located 
at Colorado Springs. This institution has a regular course 
of study. It makes a report to the Stat'^ ^ .ard of charities 
and to the superintendent of public instruction. 

122. The Dependent Class includes those who through 
some misfortune are unable to procure the necessaries of 
life and must ask either for aid or entire support. The 
chairman of the board of county commissioners is superin- 
tendent of the poor in his county. County commissioners 
are given power by law to purchase and maintain a poor- 
house or poor-farm and county hospitals. The poor are 
cared for at the poor-house, and the sick at the asylum. 
If a pauper dies within a county of this State, the county 
commissioners order a decent burial to be given such per- 
son at the expense of the county. 

An ex-Union soldier, sailor, or marine who dies without 
leaving means sufficient to defray his funeral expenses, 
may be buried at the expense of the county. 

123. The State Home for Dependent Children is 
located at Denver; it is supported by the State. 

124. The Soldiers' and Sailors* Home is located at 
Monte Vista. " This institution was created for the care 
and treatment of honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, 
and marines, who served in the Union army between 
April 12, 1861, and April 9, 1865, and those dependent 
upon them, who have been bond fide residents of this State 
for at least one year next preceding their application for 
admission to the home." This work of gratitude to the 
men who preserved the Nation is among the most worthy 
that has been undertaken by the State. 

Penal and Reformatory Institutions. 

125. The Delinquent Class includes vagabonds and 
criminals. Vagabonds are persons who travel about from 
place to place or who loiter around, having no visible 
means of support. Under the law a vagabond is called a 



PENAL AND REFORMATORY INSTITUTIONS. 89 

vagrant when found loitering about places where liquor is 
sold, when begging or when leading an immoral or pro- 
fligate life. 

There is a sharp distinction to be drawn between a 
vagrant and a pauper. The first is unworthy ; the second 
is deserving of aid. 

Criminals are violators of the law. These violations 
are called crimes or misdemeanors or public offenses. 
Persons convicted of crimes or misdemeanors are de- 
tained or imprisoned either in city prisons, county jails, 
the State Inckistrial School for Boys, the State Industrial 
School for Girls, the State Reformatory, or the State Pen- 
itentiary. 

City prisons are managed by the city authorities and 
are used only for the detention and punishment of those 
violating the city ordinances. In most counties of the 
State the cities use the county jails under certain regula- 
tions. 

126. A County Jail is provided in most of the counties 
of the State. The county sheriff has charge of the jail 
and the prisoners. There were but two counties in the 
State, in 1894, that provided employment for prisoners, so 
that in most cases the prisoners were compelled to lead an 
idle life, a condition of affairs which has led many com- 
petent prison inspectors to say, '' The county and the city 
jails are common schools of crime and vice." 

127. The State Penitentiary is located at Canon City. 
The punishment at this institution consists of the hard 
labor required of every convict, and the silence he is com- 
pelled to maintain. For infractions of the rules, prisoners 
are sometimes confined in a dark cell and are compelled 
to subsist on bread and water for three days. 

Religious services are held in the prison chapel every 
Sunday morning and Sunday school in the afternoon. 
Night school is held in the chapel every evening, except 
Saturday and Sunday. The religious services and the 



90 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO, 

night school are under the direct supervision of the chap- 
lain. 

When a prisoner^ is released from the penitentiary he 
is given five dollars in money, a suit of clothes, and a 
railroad ticket to the county from which he was sen- 
tenced. 

128. The State Reformatory is located at Buena Vista. 
The object of this institution is to provide a prison for the 
punishment and reformation of younger criminals not yet 
hardened in crime. The sentences are for an indefinite 
time, but must not be for a longer term than would have 
been imposed had the convict been sentenced to the peni- 
tentiary. The discipline and general management are 
similar to those of the penitentiary, the two institutions 
being managed by the same board of commissioners. 

129. The State Industrial School is located at Golden, 
on a farm of forty acres. Boys between the ages of ten 
and sixteen years, convicted of offenses punishable by fine 
and imprisonment for less than life, may be committed to 
this school until they are twenty-one years of age, unless 
they are sooner discharged or bound out to some responsi- 
ble person. The boys are required to do all the work on 
the farm and about the institution; are taught a trade; 
and are educated in the common branches. 

130. The Industrial School for Girls. — A law was 
passed in 1887 providing for an industrial school for girls. 
The law provided that rules should be adopted for the 
moral, physical, intellectual, social, and industrial train- 
ing of the inmates. Domestic industries take precedence 
of trades. 



^ In April, 1896, there were 627 male and 12 female convicts in the 
penitentiary. Only two prisoners in each one hundred were born in 
Colorado. One-third of the prisoners were born in the five States hav- 
ing large cities — New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri. 
One-sixth of the prisoners were of foreign birth. Two-thirds of the 
prisoners were unskilled laborers when committed. 



PENAL AND REFORMATORY IXSTITUTIOyS. 91 

The law contemplates that the State Industrial School, 
and the Industrial School for Girls, shall be schools and 
reformatories rather than juvenile prisons. 

The support of these institutions is provided for as 
follows : The School for the Deaf and the Blind, and the 
Insane Asylum each receive the proceeds of a tax of one- 
fifth of a mill on all taxable property in the State, besides 
special appropriations made by the General Assembly 
from time to time. The other State institutions are main- 
tained by special appropriations made by the General 
Assembly. The county and city institutions are main- 
tained by the county and city respectively. 

131. Supervisory Boards. — Each of the State institu- 
tions is managed by a l)oard appointed by the governor. 

The other institutions are under the control of the local 
authorities. That the best interests of the State and the 
State's defective, dependent, and delinquent subjects may 
be conserved, the law provides for a State board of charities 
and corrections, w^hich has a general supervisory power 
over the State institutions,^ and a State board of pardons, 
which investigates all applications for executive clemency 
and reports its findings to the governor.' 

In each county there is a county board of visitors ap- 
pointed by the county judge. The board keeps itself 
ad\nsed of the condition and management of the chari- 
table and corrective institutions in its county and makes 
suggestions concerning tlieir management. The board 
also attends the proceedings which are liable to result in 
committing a boy to the State Industrial School, and coun- 
sels with the judge in the case. The board makes an an- 
nual report to the State board of charities and corrections. 

Neglect and revenge should not characterize our treat- 
ment of the three classes discussed. Tlieir condition calls 
for conscientious, philanthropic treatment. 

^ See T[ 5, page 44. - See ^ 6, page 44. 



92 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

STUDIES ON BENEVOLENT, PENAL AND REFORM- 
ATORY INSTITUTIONS. 



-«o>^o 



1. Name the three classes that must be cared for by the State. 

2. Do you believe the humane spirit is growing? Give reasons. 

3. State your opinion as to the policy of not allowing prisoners in 
jails to work. 

4. State your opinion in regard to the "indeterminate sentence.'* 

5. What is meant by ' ' police power " ? 

6. What are the objects in view when the State inflicts punishment? 

7. Should the labor of convicts be brought into competition with the 
labor of honest persons ? 

8. How many inmates are there in the penitentiary at the present 
time? 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ELECTIONS. 
^>«<oo 

^' The good citizen is he who is true to his best 
nature, and toward others is just, truthful, merci- 
ful and helpful/' — Dr. James H. Baker. 

132. Majority and Minority.^ — In a free government 
the will of the majority is taken as the will of the people. 
The majority always governs. In a strong, active minor- 
ity, however, lies the safety of good government. For 
either the majority or tlie minority to w^ork effectively 
there must be organization. This is accomplished by 
means of political parties. 

133. Political Parties are a necessity in any form of 
popular government. The object of a political party 
should be, not simply the possession of the offices for 
personal profit or emolument, but to enact and to admin- 
ister the laws for the general w^elfare. Political parties 
have existed in our government since the second adminis- 
tration of Washington, and have grown to have a controlling 
influence not only in national affairs, but also in the affairs 
of the State, the county and the city. State political par- 



^ Plurality and Majority Votes. — AVhen there are more than 
two candidates for the same office, the successful candidate is usually 
elected, not by a majority, but by a plurality, vote. The candidate 
receives a plurality vote when he receives more votes than any other 
candidate for the same office ; he receives a majority vote when he 
receives more than half the whole number of votes cast for any office. 

93 



94 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO, 

ties are usuall}^ overshadowed and absorbed by the National 
parties/ 

134. Organization. — The organization of a poHtical 
party consists of three divisions : the primary, the conven- 
tion and the committee. 

The first and second are temporary bodies, the third is 
a permanent one. The efficiency of an association depends 
upon a systematic method of work. A body needs a head. 

After the primary and the convention have performed 
their work, the permanent body or committee is entrusted 
with the interests of the party. The committee, during 
the campaign before elections, arranges for public meet- 
ings and for speakers to discuss the questions at issue. 
There are National, State, county, city and district com- 
mittees, each party having its own committee. The chair- 
man of a committee holds an important position, as he is 
largely responsible for conducting the campaign. The 
committees are usually chosen either by conventions or 
by members of the party residing in the territory for which 
the committee is to serve. 

135. Candidates for the different offices are nominated 
either in conventions or by certificates of nomination. In- 
dividual members of the party are not prohibited from 
voting for any other person of their choice, but there is 
little probability of any person being elected who is not 
the regular nominee of some political party. By massing 
the vote of the members of the party on a single candi- 
date for each office, there is greater probability of success 
for the party's ideas, than when each voter selects his own 
candidate. An evil resulting from voting for party nomi- 
nees is, that in many cases persons are led to vote for 
unworthy candidates, since they dislike to seem disloyal 

^ '*It is well for the State and the Nation that people form different 
political parties. Errors in the administration of government are less 
likely to occur and are more quickly remedied when one party keeps a 
close watch upon the policy and actions of its opponents.'^ 



ELECTIONS. 95 

to the party candidates. Upright men may be nominated 
if good citizens attend the primaries. 

136. Conventions are composed of delegates chosen by 
the electors belonging to the party 'in whose interest the 
convention is held. The delegates composing the county 
and the district conventions are chosen by the electors in 
primary elections held in the various voting precincts of 
the counties. 

The city convention is composed of delegates chosen by 
the electors in primary elections held in each ward of the 
city. 

The State convention is composed of delegates chosen 
by the county conventions. 

The congressional convention is composed of delegates 
chosen by the electors in the congressional district. 

137. Nominations by Convention. — Candidates are 
nominated by the different conventions as follows: For 
the office of President and Vice-President of the United 
States, by the National convention ; for State officers, by 
the State convention ; for representative to Congress, by 
the congressional convention ; for district judge, district 
attorney, State senator and representative to the General 
Assembly, by the district convention ; for the elective 
county offices, by the county convention ; and for the 
elective city offices, by the city convention. Only par- 
ties that cast one-tenth of the total vote at the preceding 
election are entitled to nominate candidates. 

138. Nominations by Certificate. — Candidates for any 
office may be nominated by certificate. A certificate of 
nomination for any office must contain the name, resi- 
dence, business and address of the candidate, the party 
which he represents, and the office for which he is nom- 
inated. If the nomination is for a State office, the certifi- 
cate must be signed by not less than five hundred electors ; 
if the nomination is for any district or county office, the 
certificate must be signed by not less than one hundred 



96 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO, 

electors ; if the nomination is for an office in districts less 
than a county, the certificate must be signed by not less 
than fifty electors. All certificates must be filed not less 
than fifteen days before election day. All corrections must 
be made at least eight days before the election. 

139. The Ticket is made up as follows: A certificate 
of all nominations made by conventions, containing the 
name, residence, business and address of each candidate 
and the office for which he is named, together with the 
name of the party represented by the convention, must be 
signed by the presiding officer and the secretary of the con- 
vention, and delivered to the proper officer within five 
days after the adjournment of the convention. Nomina- 
tions by certificate must also be filed with the proper officer. 

All certificates of nomination of candidates for electors 
for President and Vice-President of the United States, and 
candidates for State offices or for any division greater than 
the county, are filed with the secretary of State. 

Certificates of nomination for county and precinct offices 
are filed with the county clerk and recorder, and those for 
the city offices are filed with the city clerk. 

The secretary of State, from the certificates of nomina- 
tions filed in his office, certifies to the county clerks the 
name and place of residence of each of the candidates for 
offices higher than the county, to be voted for in the re- 
spective counties. 

The county clerk completes the list of candidates from 
the certificates of nominations filed in his office and pub- 
lishes the same at least six days before an election. The 
city clerk does the same before a city election. The 
official ballot contains the names of all the candidates 
that have been nominated for office. 

140. Elections. — All elections in this State, except 
school district^ elections and elections for United States 

* The regular election occurs in each school district on the first Mon- 



ELECTIONS. 97. 

senators/ are held in accordance with the modified Aus- 
tralian ballot law passed by the General Assembly in 1891. 
The regular elections for Presidential electors, members 
of Congress, State and county officers, members of the 
General Assembly, district judge and district attorney, 
are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in 
November. The regular town and city election is held on 
the first Tuesday in April. 

141. Judges of Election. — For each voting precinct 
three judges of election, representing at least two political 
parties, are appointed. These judges have general super- 
vision of the polling-place and ballot-box ; declare the 
opening and closing of the polls ; appoint two clerks to 
assist them; and see that the election laws are complied 
with. At the close of the polls, they count the votes and 
certify the result to the town, city or county clerk, as the 
case may be. They have charge of the ballot-boxes and 
return all ballots voted, those spoiled and those unused. 

142. Voting. — The polling-places are i)rovided at the 
public expense. Each polling-place is provided with a 
guard rail, and with one voting-booth for each fifty voters 
in the precinct. The voters, judges and clerks are the only 
persons allowed behind the guard rail. 

When the voter gives his name he is admitted behind 
the guard rail, if his name is found on the registry list. 
The judge supplies the voter w^ith an official ballot. This 
ballot must be endorsed with the initials of the judge fur- 
nishing it. The voter then retires into one of the compart- 

day in May. Any person who desires to be a candidate for the office of 
school director in districts of the first or second class must file a >^Titten 
notice of such intention with the district secretary at least eight days 
before the election. The district secretary, for five consecutive days pre- 
ceding the election, publishes a list of the candidates. The members of 
the school boar4 are the judges of the election in all school districts. 

^ United States senators are elected by the General Assembly to serve 
for six years. 

7— Col I 



98 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO. 

merits to prepare his ballot. This is done by placing a 
cross (X) in the square after the name of each person for 
whom he desires to vote, or if he wishes to vote a straight 
ticket, that is, to vote for all the candidates of one party, 
he may place a cross (X) in the square after the party 
emblem or device which is printed at the top of the bal- 
lot, or he may write in blank spaces left for the purpose, 
the names of candidates of his own choice. If the ballot 
contains a question submitted to the people, the voter 
places the same kind of mark (X) in the square after the 
word or words that show how he desires to vote. 

The voter then folds his ballot so that no one can see 
how he voted, hands it to the judge of election, who num- 
bers it and pastes down the corner covering the number. 
The number of the ballot and the voter's name are entered 
in the poll-book. The judge hands the ballot to the voter, 
who deposits it in the ballot-box, and immediately leaves 
the polling-place. Illiterate voters may have the assistance 
of the judges in making out their ballots.^ 

143. Determining the Results. — Votes are received 
from 7 A. M. until 7 p. m. Immediately after the polls are 
closed, the judges of election unlock the ballot-box, count 
the votes and prepare a written statement showing the 
number of votes cast for each candidate. In city elec- 
tions the returns are made to the city clerk. The council 
canvass the returns and the candidates having the high- 
est number of votes are given certificates of election. In 
all other elections the returns are made to the county 
clerk. The county clerk calls to his assistance two jus- 
tices of the peace, one from each of the two leading 
political parties; the clerk and the justices canvass the 
vote and determine the number of votes cast for each can- 
didate. The county clerk issues certificates of election to 

^ The object of the Australian ballot system is that the ballot may be 
made absolutely secret, and in this manner the voter may be allowed to 
express his opinion at the ballot-box unmolested. 



ELECTIONS. 99 

the candidates for county and precinct offices who have 
received the highest number of votes. He also makes 
abstracts of the number of votes cast for all State and 
district offices, for members of the legislature, representa- 
tives in Congress and electors for President and Vice- 
President of the United States if these are voted for at 
this election, and forwards them to the secretary of State. 
This officer presents the abstracts, with the exception of 
that for the executive offices of the State government,^ to 
the State board of canvassers.'^ This board examines the 
statements and determines which candidates have received 
the highest number of votes, and the secretary of State 
issues certificates of election in accordance with the deci- 
sion of the board. 

144. Safeguards Against Fraud. — In order to secure 
an honest expression of the people's choice in elections, 
many laws have been passed to protect electors and to 
prevent or punish corruption and evil practices. To pre- 
vent the casting of illegal votes each elector must be regis- 
tered. A permanent register is kept by the county clerk 
for the registration of voters living within the limits of 
cities of the first and second classes. In this book is en- 
tered the name, address and description of the elector. 
Voters must be registered fifteen days before an election. 

In other precincts the judges of election sit as a board 
of registration. Voters are privileged from arrest during 
their attendance at elections, except for treason, felony or 
breach of the peace. Another safeguard against illegal 
voting is that the vote of any elector may be challenged, 
in which case he is not allowed to vote, unless he takes 
an oath affirming his qualifications. 

Polling places must not be within fifty feet of a saloon, 

^ The General Assembly in joint session canvasses the vote for the 
executive offices of the State. The abstract of votes from the various 
counties is delivered to the speaker of the House by the secretary of 
State. 2 See H 1, page 42. 



100 THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF COLORADO, 

and all saloons mast be closed on election day. No elec- 
tioneering is allowed within one hundred feet of the poll- 
ing place. Employes may, without loss of pay, take two 
hours in which to vote. 

Each candidate is required to file with the county clerk 
within thirty days after the election, a sworn statement 
of the amount of money expended by him for election 
purposes, giving the names of the persons to whom the 
money was paid ; and each party or campaign committee 
is required to file a similar statement showing in detail 
the amount of money received, and the purpose for which 
it was expended. These statements are published. The 
violation of these provisions is punishable by fine and 
imprisonment. 

There are so many ways in which corruption in elections 
is possible, that the greatest care should be taken to frame 
. and enforce strict laws to check it. 

145. Contested Elections. — Where a candidate for 
office who has been declared defeated is not satisfied with 
the result, provision is made by law by which he may 
contest the election. This constitutes a valuable safeguard 
against fraudulent elections. 

Contested elections for presidential elector or judge of 
the supreme court are tried before the supreme court, 
but no judge may decide his own case. Contests for 
district and county courts are tried before the district 
court. No judge may decide his own case. Contests for 
the State executive offices are heard by the General As- 
sembly; each house is judge of the contested election of 
its own members. Contests for city offices are heard by 
the city council. All other contested elections are tried 
before the county judge. 

146. The Officer-Elect. — The candidate who has re- 
ceived the certificate of election is the officer-elect. When 
the term for which his predecessor was elected or appointed 
has expired, and when he has qualified, by taking an oath 



STUDIES ON ELECTIONS. 101 

to support the Constitution of the United States and of 
the State of Colorado, and faithfully to discharge the duties 
of his office, and by filing the proper bond, he becomes a 
public officer. 

Officers of the executive department and judge of the 
supreme and district courts and district attorneys file their 
oath of office with the secretary of State. All other offi- 
cers file their oath of office with the county clerk of the 
county in which they are elected. 



STUDIES ON ELECTIONS. 



1. What does the word politics mean? 

2. What can one citizen do to secure good nominations? 

3. How do people know wlio are elected, long before the boards of 
canvasvsers meet ? 

4. Should a person chanfi^e his political principles while in office? 

5. Make a ticket for the next general election. 

6. Is bolting ever justifiable? 

7. What advantages has election over appointment ? What advan- 
tages has appointment over election ? 

8. Should school directors belong to the majority party? Why? 

9. What is meant by the ** Australian Ballot" ? 

10. How would you decide which of several candidates to vote for? 

11. What is your opinion of " voting the straight ticket" ? 

12. What is your opinion of ''voting for the best man" ? 

13. What do you mean by *' voting for the issue " ? 



CONSTITUTION 

OF THE 

STATE OF COLORADO. 

»o>«4oc 

PREAMBLE. 

We, the people of Colorado, with profound reverence for the 
Supreme Ruler of the Universe, in order to form a more indepen- 
dent and perfect government ; establish justice; insure tranquillity; 
provide for the common defense ; promote the general welfare and 
secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do or- 
dain and establish this Constitution for the " State of Colorado." 

ARTICLE L 

BOUNDARIES. 

The boundaries of the State of Colorado shall be as follows : 
Commencing on the thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude, where 
the twenty-fifth meridian of longitude west from Washington crosses 
the same ; thence north, on said meridian, to the forty-first parallel 
of north latitude ; thence, along said parallel, west to the thirty- 
second meridian of longitude west from Washington ; thence south 
on said meridian, to the thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude ; 
thence along said thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude, to the 
place of beginning. 

ARTICLE II. 

BILL OF RIGHTS. 

In order to assert our rights, acknowledge our duties, and pro- 
claim the principles upon which our government is founded, we 
declare : 

Section i. That all political power is vested in and derived 
from the people ; that all government, of right, originates from the 
people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for 
the good of the whole. 
102 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 103 

Sec. 2. That the people of this State have the sole and exclu- 
sive right of governing themselves, as a free, sovereign and inde- 
pendent State ; and to alter and abolish their Constitution and form 
of government whenever they may deem it necessary to their safety 
and happiness ; Provided, Such change be not repugnant to the 
Constitution of the United States. 

Sec. 3. That all persons have certain natural, essential and in- 
alienable rights, among which may be reckoned the right of enjoy- 
ing and defending their lives and liberties ; that of acquiring, pos- 
sessing and protecting property ; and of seeking and obtaining their 
safety and happiness. 

Sec. 4. That the free exercise and enjoyment of religious pro- 
fession and worship, without discrimination, shall forever hereafter 
be guaranteed ; and no person shall be denied any civil or political 
right, privilege or capacity, on account of his opinions concerning 
religion ; but the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be 
construed to dispense with oaths or affirmations, excuse acts of 
licentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with the good order, 
peace or safety of the State. No person shall be required to attend 
or support any ministry or place of worship, religious sect, or de- 
nomination against his consent. Nor shall any preference be given 
by law to any religious denomination or mode of worship. 

Sec. 5. That all elections shall be free and open ; and no 
power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the 
free exercise of the right of suffrage. 

Sec. 6. That courts of justice shall be open to every person, 
and a speedy remedy afforded for every injury to person, property 
or character; and that right and justice should be administered 
without sale, denial or delay. 

Sec. 7. That the people shall be secure in their persons, papers, 
homes and effects from unreasonable searches and seizures ; and 
no warrant to search any place or seize any person or thing shall 
issue without describing the place to be searched, or the person or 
thing to be seized, as near as may be, nor without probable cause, 
supported by oath or affirmation reduced to writing. 

Sec. 8. That until otherwise provided by law, no person shall, 
for a felony, be proceeded against criminally, otherwise than by 
indictment, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or 
in the militia when in actual service in time of war or public dan- 
ger. In all other cases, offenses shall be prosecuted criminally by 
indictment or information. 

Sec. 9. That treason against the State can consist only in levy- 
ing war against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid 



104 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO, 

and comfort ; that no person can be convicted of treason unless 
on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on his 
confession in open court ; that no person can be attainted of treason 
or felony by the General Assembly ; that no conviction can work 
corruption of blood or forfeiture of estate ; that the estates of such 
persons as may destroy their own lives shall descend or vest as in 
cases of natural death. 

Sec. id. That no law shall be passed impairing the freedom 
of speech ; that every person shall be free to speak, write or pub- 
lish whatever he will on any subject, being responsible for all abuse 
of that liberty ; and that in all suits and prosecutions for libel, the 
truth thereof may be given in evidence, and the jury, under the 
direction of the court, shall determine the law and the fact. 

Sec. II. That no ex post facto law, nor law impairing the obli- 
gation of contracts, or retrospective in its operation, or making any 
irrevocable grant of special privileges, franchises or immunities, 
shall be passed by the General Assembly. 

Sec. 12. That no person shall be imprisoned for debt, unless 
upon refusal to deliver up his estate for the benefit of his creditors, 
in such manner as shall be prescribed by law, or in cases of tort or 
where there is a strong presumption of fraud. 

Sec. 13. That the right of no person to keep and bear arms in 
defense of his home, person and property, or in aid of the civil power 
when thereto legally summoned, shall be called in question ; but 
nothing herein contained shall be construed to justify the practice 
of carrying concealed weapons. 

Sec. 14. That private property shall not be taken for private use 
unless by consent of the owner, except for private ways of neces- 
sity and except for reservoirs, drains, flumes or ditches on or across 
the lands of others, for agricultural, mining, milling, domestic or 
sanitary purposes. 

Sec. 15. That private property shall not be taken or damaged, 
for public or private use, without just compensation. Such com- 
pensation shall be ascertained by a board of commissioners, of not 
less than three freeholders, or by a jury, when required by the 
owner of the property, in such manner as may be prescribed by 
law, and until the same shall be paid to the owner, or into court 
for the owner, the property shall not be needlessly disturbed, or the 
proprietary rights of the owner therein divested ; and whenever an 
attempt is made to take private property for a use alleged to be 
public, the question whether the contemplated use be really public, 
shall be a judicial question, and determined as such without regard 
to any legislative assertion that the use is public 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO, 105 

Sec. i6. That in criminal prosecutions the accused shall have 
the right to appear and defend in person and by counsel ; to de- 
mand the nature and cause of the accusation ; to meet the wit- 
nesses against him face to face ; to have process to compel the at- 
tendance of witnesses in his behalf; and a speedy public trial by 
an impartial jury of the county or district in which the offense is 
alleged to have been committed. 

Sec. 17. That no person shall be imprisoned for the purpose 
of securing his testimony in any case longer than may be neces- 
sary in order to take his deposition. If he can give security he 
shall be discharged ; if he cannot give security, his deposition 
shall be taken by some judge of the supreme, district or county 
court, at the earliest time he can attend, at some convenient place 
by him appointed for that purpose, of which time and place the 
accused and the attorney prosecuting for the people, shall have 
reasonable notice. The accused shall have the right to appear in 
person and by counsel. If he have no counsel, the judge shall as- 
sign him one in that behalf only. On the completion of such ex- 
amination the witness shall be discharged on his own recognizance, 
entered into before said judge, but such deposition shall not be 
used, if, in the opinion of the court, the personal attendance of the 
witness might be procured by the prosecution, or is procured by the 
accused. No exception shall be taken to such deposition as to 
matters of form. 

Sec. 18. That no person shall be compelled to testify against 
himself in a criminal case, nor shall any person be twice put in 
jeopardy for the same offense. If the jury disagree, or if the judg- 
ment be arrested after the verdict, or if the judgment be reversed 
for error in law, the accused shall not be deemed to have been in 
jeopardy. 

Sec. 19. That all persons shall be bailable by sufficient sure- 
ties, except for capital offenses, when the proof is evident or the 
presumption great. 

Sec. 20. That excessive bail shall not be required, nor exces- 
sive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

Sec. 21. That the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall 
never be suspended, unless when in case of rebellion or invasion, 
the public safety may require it. 

Sec. 22. That the military shall always be in strict subordina- 
tion to the civil power ; that no soldier shall, in time of peace, be 
quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in 
time of war except in the manner prescribed by law. 

Sec. 23. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate in 



106 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 

criminal cases, but a jury in civil cases in all courts, or in criminal 
cases in courts not of record, may consist of less than twelve men, 
as may be prescribed by law. Hereafter a grand jury shall consist 
of twelve men, any nine of whom concurring may find an indict- 
ment : Provided, The General Assembly may change, regulate or 
abolish the grand jury system. 

Sec. 24. That the people have the right peaceably to assemble 
for the common good, and to apply to those invested with the 
powers of government for redress of grievances, by petition or 
remonstrance. 

Sec. 25. That no person shall be deprived of life, hberty or 
property, without due process of law. 

Sec. 26. That there shall never be in this State either slavery 
or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof 
the party shall have been duly convicted. 

Sec. 27. Aliens, who are or may hereafter become bona fide resi- 
dents of this State, may acquire, inherit, possess, enjoy and dispose 
of property, real and personal, as native born citizens. 

Sec. 28. The enumeration in this Constitution of certain rights 
shall not be construed to deny, impair, or disparage others retained 
by the people. 

ARTICLE III. 

DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS. 

The powers of the government of this State are divided into 
three distinct departments — the legislative, executire and judicial — 
and no person, or collection of persons, charged with the exercise 
of powers properly belonging to one of these departments shall 
exercise any power properly belonging to either of the others 
except as in this Constitution expressly directed or permitted. 

ARTICLE IV. 
executive department. 
Section i. The Executive department shall consist of a Gov- 
ernor, Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor of State, 
State Treasurer, Attorney-General, and Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, each of whom shall hold his office for the term of two 
years, beginning on the second Tuesday of January next after his 
election ; Provided, That the terms of office of those chosen at 
the first election held under this Constitution shall begin on the 
day appointed for the first meeting of the General Assembly. The 
officers of the executive department, except the Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor, shall, during their term of office, reside at the seat of govern- 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 107 

ment, where they shall keep the public records, books and papers. 
They shall perform such duties as are prescribed by this Constitu- 
tion or by law. 

Sec. 2. The supreme executive power of the State shall be 
vested in the Governor, who shall take care that the laws be faith- 
fully executed. 

Sec. 3. The officers named in section one of this article shall be 
chosen on the day of the general election, by the qualified electors 
of the State. The returns of every election for said officers shall 
be sealed up and transmitted to the Secretary of State, directed to 
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall immedi- 
ately, upon the organization of the House, and before proceeding 
to other business, open and publish the same in the presence of a 
majority of the members of both Houses of the General Assembly, 
who shall, for that purpose, assemble in the House of Representa- 
tives. The person having the highest number of votes for either 
of said offices shall be declared duly elected, but if two or more 
have an equal and the highest number of votes for the same office, 
one of them shall be chosen thereto by the two Houses, on joint 
ballot. Contested elections for said offices shall be determined by 
the two Houses, on joint ballot, in such manner as may be pre- 
scribed by law. 

Sec. 4. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor, 
Lieutenant-Governor, or Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
unless he shall have attained the age of thirty years, nor to the 
office of Auditor of State, Secretary of State, or State Treasurer, 
unless he shall have attained the age of twenty-five years, nor to 
the office of Attorney-General unless he shall have attained the age 
of twenty-five years, and be a licensed attorney of the supreme 
court of the State, or of the Territory of Colorado, in good standing. 
At the first election under this Constitution, any person being a 
qualified elector at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, 
and having the qualifications above herein prescribed for any one 
of said offices, shall be eligible thereto ; but thereafter no person 
shall be eligible to any one of said offices, unless, in addition to 
the qualifications above prescribed therefor, he shall be a citizen 
of the United States, and have resided within the limits of the 
State two years next preceding his election. 

Sec. 5. The Governor shall be Commander-in-chief of the 
military forces of the State, except when they shall be called into 
actual service of the United States. He shall have power to call 
out the militia to execute the laws, suppress insurrection or repel 
invasion. 



108 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO, 

Sec. 6. The Governor shall nominate, and by and with the con- 
sent of the Senate, appoint all officers whose offices are established 
by this Constitution, or which may be created by law, and whose 
appointment or election is not otherwise provided for, and may 
remove any such officer for incompetency, neglect of duty or mal- 
feasance in office. If, during the recess of the Senate, a vacancy 
occur in any such office, the Governor shall appoint some fit person 
to discharge the duties thereof until the next meeting of the Senate, 
when he shall nominate some person to fill such office. If the 
office of Auditor of State, State Treasurer, Secretary of State, 
Attorney-General, or Superintendent of Public Instruction, shall be 
vacated by death, resignation, or otherwise, it shall be the duty of 
the Governor to fill the same by appointment, and the appointee 
shall hold his office until his successor shall be elected and qualified 
in such manner as may be provided by law. The Senate, in delib- 
erating upon executive nominations, may sit with closed doors, but 
in acting upon nominations they shall sit with open doors, and the 
vote shall be taken by ayes and noes, which shall be entered upon 
the journal. 

Sec. 7. The Governor shall have power to grant reprieves, com- 
mutations and pardons after conviction, for all offenses except trea- 
son, and except in case of impeachment, subject to such regulations 
as may be prescribed by law relative to the manner of applying for 
pardons, but he shall in every case where he may exercise this 
power, send to the General Assembly, at its first session thereafter, 
a transcript of the petition, all proceedings, and the reasons for his 
action. 

Sec. 8. The Governor may require information in writing from 
the officers of the executive department upon any subject relating 
to the duties of their respective offices, which information shall be 
given upon oath whenever so required ; he may also require infor- 
mation in writing at any time, under oath, from all officers and 
managers of State institutions, upon any subject relating to the con- 
dition, management and expenses of their respective offices and 
institutions. The Governor shall, at the commencement of each 
session and from time to time, by message, give to the General 
Assembly information of the condition of the State and shall 
recommend such measures as he shall deem expedient. He shall 
also send to the General Assembly a statement with vouchers, of 
the expenditures of all moneys belonging to the State and paid out 
by him. He shall also, at the commencement of each session, 
present estimates of the amount of money required to be raised by 
taxation for all purposes of the State. 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO, 109 

Sec. 9. The Governor may, on extraordinary occasions, convene 
the General Assembly, by proclamation, stating therein the purpose 
for which it is to assemble ; but at such special session no business 
shall be transacted other than that specially named in the procla- 
mation. He may, by proclamation, convene the Senate in extraor- 
dinary session for the transaction of executive business. 

Sec. 10. The Governor, in case of a disagreement between the 
two Houses as to the time of adjournment, may, upon the same 
being certified to him, by the House last moving adjournment, 
adjourn the General Assembly to a day not later than the first day 
of the next regular session. 

Sec. II. Every bill passed by the General Assembly shall, 
before it becomes a law, be presented to the Governor. If he 
approve, he shall sign it, and thereupon it shall become a law ; but 
if he do not approve, he shall return it with his objections to the 
House in which it originated, which House shall enter the objec- 
tions at large upon its journal, and proceed to reconsider the bill. 
If then, two-thirds of the members elected agree to pass the same, 
it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, 
by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two- 
thirds of the members elected to that House^ it shall become a law, 
notwithstanding the objections of the Governor. In all such cases 
the vote of each House shall be determined by ayes and noes, to 
be entered upon the journal. If any bill shall not be returned by 
the Governor within ten days after it shall have been presented to 
him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, 
unless the General Assembly shall, by their adjournment, prevent 
its return, in which case it shall be filed, with his objections, in the 
office of the Secretar}^ of State within thirty days after such adjourn- 
ment, or else become a law. 

Sec. 12. The Governor shall have power to disapprove of any 
item or items of any bill making appropriations of money, embra- 
cing distinct items, and the part or parts of the bill approved shall 
be law, and the item or items disapproved shall be void, unless 
enacted in manner following : If the General Assembly be in 
session, he shall transmit to the House in which the bill originated 
a copy of the item or items thereof disapproved, together with his 
objections thereto, and the items objected to shall be separately 
reconsidered, and each item shall then take the same course as is 
prescribed for the passage of bills over the executive veto. 

lieutenant-governor. 
Sec. 13. In case of the death, impeachment, or conviction of 

K 



110 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 

felony or infamous misdemeanor, failure to qualify, resignation, 
absence from the State, or other disability of the Governor, the 
powers, duties and emoluments of the office, for the residue of the 
term, or until the disability be removed, shall devolve upon the 
Lieutenant-Governor. 

Sec. 14. The Lieutenant-Governor shall be President of the 
Senate, and shall vote only when the Senate is equally divided. 
In case of the absence, impeachment, or disqualification from any 
cause of the Lieutenant-Governor, or when he shall hold the office 
of Governor, then the President pro te7npore of the Senate shall 
perform the duties of the Lieutenant-Governor, until the vacancy 
is filled or the disability removed. 

Sec. 15. In case of the failure to qualify in his office, death, 
resignation, absence from the State, impeachment, conviction of 
felony or infamous misdemeanor, or disqualification from any 
cause, of both the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, the duties 
of the Governor shall devolve on the President of the Senate 
pro tempore, until such disqualification of either the Governor or 
Lieutenant-Governor be removed, or the vacancy be filled ; and if 
the President of the Senate, for any of the above-named causes, 
shall become incapable of performing the duties of Governor, the 
same shall devolve upon the Speaker of the House. 

Sec. 16. An account shall be kept by the officers of the execu- 
tive department and of all pubhc institutions of the State, of all 
moneys received by them severally from all sources, and for every 
service performed, and of all moneys disbursed by them severally, 
and a semi-annual report thereof shall be made to the Governor, 
under oath. 

Sec. 17. The officers of the executive department, and of all 
public institutions of the State, shall at least twenty days preceding 
each regular session of the General Assembly, make full and com- 
plete reports of their actions to the Governor, who shall transmit 
the same to the General Assembly. 

Sec. 18. There shall be a seal of the State, which shall be kept 
by the Secretary of State, and shall be called the "Great Seal of 
the State of Colorado." The seal of the Territory of Colorado as now 
used shall be the seal of the State until otherwise provided by law. 

Sec. 19. The officers named in section one of this article shall 
receive for their services a salary to be established by law, which 
shall not be increased or diminished during their official terms. It 
shall be the duty of all such officers to collect in advance all fees 
prescribed by law for services rendered by them severally, and pay 
the same into the State Treasury. 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO, 111 

Sec. 20. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall be 
ex officio State Librarian. 

Sec. 21. Neither the State Treasurer nor State Auditor shall be 
eligible for re-election as his own immediate successor. 

ARTICLE V. 

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Section i. The legislative power shall be vested in the 
General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and House of 
Representatives, both to be elected by the people. 

Sec. 2. An election for members of the General Assembly 
shall be held on the first Tuesday in October, in the years of our Lord 
1876 and 1878, and in each alternate year thereafter, on such day, at 
such places in each county as now are or hereafter may be provided 
by law. The first election for members of the General Assembly 
under the State organization shall be conducted in the manner pre- 
scribed by the laws of Colorado Territory regulating elections for 
members of the legislative assembly thereof. When vacancies 
occur in either House, the Governor, or person exercising the 
powers of Governor, shall issue writs of election to fill such vacan- 
cies. 

Sec. 3. Senators shall be elected for the term of four years 
except as hereinafter provided, and Representatives for the terni 
of t\yo years. 

Sec. 4. No person shall be a Representative or Senator who 
shall not have attained the age of twenty-five years, who shall not 
be a citizen of the L'nited States, who shall not for at least twelve 
months next preceding his election have resided within the territor\' 
included in the limits of the county or district in which he shall be 
chosen ; Provided, That any person who, at the time of the adop- 
tion of this Constitution, was a qualified elector under the Territorial 
laws, shall be eligible to the first General Assembly. 

Sec. 5. The Senators at their first session, shall be divided into 
two classes. Those elected in districts designated by even numbers 
shall constitute one class ; those elected in districts designated by 
odd numbers shall constitute the other class, except that Senators 
elected in each of the districts having more than one Senator shall 
be equally divided between the two classes. The Senators of one 
class shall hold for two years ; those of the other class shall hold 
for four years — to be decided by lot between the two classes, so that 
one-half of the Senators, as near as practicable, may be biennially 
chosen forever thereafter. 



112 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO, 

Sec. 6. Each member of the General Assembly, until otherwise 
provided by law, shall receive as compensation for his services, 
seven dollars ($7.00) for each day's attendance and fifteen (15) 
cents for each mile necessarily traveled in going to and returning 
from the seat of government, and shall receive no other compensa- 
tion, perquisite, or allowance whatsoever. No session of the Gen- 
eral Assembly shall exceed ninety days. No General Assembly 
shall fix its own compensation. 

Sec. 7. The General Assembly shall meet at 12 o'clock, noon, 
on the first Wednesday in November, A. D. 1876, and at 12 o'clock, 
noon, on the first Wednesday in January, A. D. 1879, ^^^ ^^ ^^ 
o'clock, noon, on the first Wednesday in January of each alternate 
year forever thereafter, and at other times when convened by the 
Governor. The term of service of the members thereof shall be- 
gfei on the first Wednesday of November next after their election, 
until otherwise provided by law. 

Sec. 8. No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for 
which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office 
under this State ; and no member of Congress, or other person 
holding any office (except of attorney-at-law, notary public, or in 
the mihtia) under the United States or this State, shall be a mem- 
ber of either House during his continuance in office. 

Sec. 9. No member of either House shall, during the term for 
which he may have been elected, receive any increase of salary or 
mileage, under any law passed during such term. 

Sec. 10. The Senate shall, at the beginning and close of each 
regular session and at such other times as may be necessary, elect 
one of its members President pro tempore. The House of Repre- 
sentatives shall elect one of its members as Speaker. Each House 
shall choose its other officers, and shall judge of the election and 
qualification of its members. 

Sec. II. A majority of each House shall constitute a quorum, 
but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and compel the 
attendance of absent members. 

Sec. 12. Each House shall have power to determine the rules 
of its proceedings and punish its members or other persons for 
contempt or disorderly behavior in its presence ; to enforce obedi- 
ence to its process ; to protect its members against violence, or 
offers of bribes or private solicitation, and, with the concurrence of 
two-thirds, to expel a member, but not a second time for the same 
cause, and shall have all other powers necessary for the legislature 
of a free State. A member expelled for corruption shall not there- 
after be eligible to either House of the same General Assembly, 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 113 

and punishment for contempt or disorderly behavior shall not bar 
an indictment for the same offense. 

Sec. 13. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, 
and may in its discretion, from, time to time, publish the same, ex- 
cept such parts as require secrecy, and the ayes and noes on any 
question shall, at the desire of any two members, be entered on the 
journal. 

Sec. 14. The sessions of each House, and of the committees 
of the whole, shall be open, unless when the business is such as 
ought to be kept secret. 

Sec. 15. Neither House shall without the consent of the other 
adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that 
in which the two Houses shall be sitting. 

Sec. 16. The members of the General Assembly shall in all 
cases except treason, felony, violation of their oath of office, and 
breach or surety of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their 
attendance at the sessions of their respective Houses, and in going 
to and returning from the same ; and for any speech or debate in 
either House they shall not be questioned in any other place. 

Sec. 17. No law shall be passed except by bill, and no bill shall 
be so altered or amended on its passage through either House as to 
change its original purpose. 

Sec. 18. The style of the laws of this State shall be : Be it en- 
acted by the Ge^ieral Assembly of the State of Colorado'' 

Sec. 19. No act of the General Assembly shall take effect until 
ninety days after its passage (except in cases of emergency, which 
shall be expressed in the act), unless the General Assembly shall, 
by a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each House, 
otherwise direct. No bill, except the general appropriation bill for 
the expenses of the government only, which shall be introduced in 
either House of the General Assembly after the first thirty days of 
the session, shall become a law. 

Sec. 20. No bill shall be considered or become a law unless 
referred to a committee, returned therefrom, and printed for the 
use of the members. 

Sec. 21. No bill except general appropriation bills shall be 
passed containing more than one subject, which shall be clearly 
expressed in its title ; but if any subject shall be embraced in any 
act which shall not be expressed in the title, such act shall be void 
only as to so much thereof as shall not be so expressed. 

Sec. 22. Every bill shall be read by title when introduced, and 
at length on two different days in each House ; all substantial 
amendments made thereto, shall be printed for the use of the 
8— Col 



]]4 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 

members before the final vote is taken on the bill ; and no bill 
shall become a law except by vote of a majority of all the members 
elected to each House, nor unless on its final passage the vote be 
taken by ayes and noes, and the names of those voting be entered 
on the journal. 

Sec. 23. No amendment to any bill by one House shall be 
concurred in by the other, nor shall the report of any committee 
of conference be adopted in either House except by a vote of a 
majority of the members elected thereto, taken by ayes and noes, 
and the names of those voting recorded upon the journal thereof. 

Sec. 24. No law shall be revived, or amended, or the provi- 
sions thereof extended or conferred by reference to its title only, 
but so much thereof as is revived, amended, extended or conferred, 
shall be re-enacted and published at length. 

Sec. 25. The General Assembly shall not pass local or special 
laws in any of the following enumerated cases, that is to say : for 
granting divorces ; laying out, opening, altering or working roads 
or highways ; vacating roads, town plats, streets, alleys and public 
grounds ; locating or changing county seats ; regulating county or 
township affairs ; regulating the practice in courts of justice ; regu- 
lating the jurisdiction and duties of justices of the peace, police 
magistrates and constables ; changing the rules of evidence in any 
trial or inquiry ; providing for changes of venue in civil or criminal 
cases ; declaring any person of age ; for limitation of civil actions 
or giving effect to informal or invalid deeds ; summoning or impan- 
eling grand or petit juries; providing for the management of com- 
mon schools ; regulating the rate of interest on money ; the open- 
ing or conducting of any election, or designating the place of voting ; 
the sale or mortgage of real estate belonging to minors or others 
under disabihty ; the protection of game or fish ; chartering or 
hcensing ferries or toll bridges ; remitting fines, penalties or for- 
feitures ; creating, increasing or decreasing fees, percentage or al- 
lowances of public officers ; changing the law of descent ; granting 
to any corporation, association or individual the right to lay down 
railroad tracks ; granting to any corporation, association or indi- 
vidual any special or exclusive privilege, immunity or franchise 
whatever. In all other cases, where a general law can be made 
applicable, no special law shall be enacted. 

Sec. 26. The presiding officer of each House shall, in the pres- 
ence of the House over which he presides, sign all bills and joint 
resolutions passed by the General Assembly, after their titles shall 
have been publicly read, immediately before signing ; and the fact 
of the signing shall be entered on the journal. 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 115 

Sec. 27. The General Assembly shall prescribe by law the 
number, duties and compensation of the officers and employes of 
each House ; and no payment shall be made from the State Treas- 
ury, or be in any way authorized to any person, except to an acting 
officer or employe elected or appointed in pursuance of law. 

Sec. 28. No bill shall be passed giving any extra compensation 
to any public officer, servant or employe, agent or contractor, after 
services shall have been rendered or contract made, nor providing 
for the payment of any claim made against the State without pre- 
vious authority of law. 

Sec. 29. All stationery, printing, paper and fuel used in the 
legislative and other departments of government, shall be fur- 
nished ; and the printing and binding and distributing of the laws, 
journals, department reports, and other printing and binding ; and 
the repairing and furnishing the halls and rooms used for the meet- 
ing of the General Assembly and its committees, shall be performed 
under contract ; to be given to the lowest responsible bidder, below 
such maximum price and under such regulations as may be pre- 
scribed by law. No member or officer of any department of the 
government shall be in any way interested in any such contract ; 
and all such contracts shall be subject to the approval of the Gov- 
ernor and State Treasurer. 

Sec. 30. Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, no 
law shall extend the term of any public officer, or increase or dimin- 
ish his salary or emoluments after his election or appointment ; Pro- 
vided, That on and after the first day of March, A. d. 1881, the 
salaries of the following designated public officers, including those 
thereof who may then be incumbents of such offices, shall be as 
herein provided, viz. : The Governor shall receive an annual salary 
of five thousand dollars, and the further sum of fifteen hundred dol- 
lars for the payment of a private secretary. The judges of the 
supreme courts shall each receive an annual salary of five thousand 
dollars. The judges of the district courts shall each receive an an- 
nual salary of four thousand dollars. 

Sec. 31. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the 
House of Representatives ; but the Senate may propose amend- 
ments, as in case of other bills. 

Sec. 32. The general appropriation bill shall embrace nothing 
but appropriations for the ordinary expenses of the executive, legis- 
lative and judicial departments of the State, interest on the public 
debt and for public schools. All other appropriations shall be made 
by separate bills, each embracing but one subject. 

Sec. 33. No money shall be paid out of the treasury except 



116 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 

upon appropriations made by law, and on warrant drawn by the 
proper officer in pursuance thereof. 

Sec. 34. No appropriation shall be made for charitable, indus- 
trial, educational or benevolent purposes, to any person, corpora- 
tion or community not under the absolute control of the State, nor 
to any denominational or sectarian institution or association. 

Sec. 35. The General Assembly shall not delegate to any spe- 
cial commission, private corporation or association, any power to 
make, supervise or interfere with any municipal improvement, 
money, property or effects, whether held in trust or otherwise, or to 
levy taxes, or perform any municipal function whatever. 

Sec. 36. No act of the General Assembly shall authorize the 
investment of trust funds by executors, administrators, guardians, 
or other trustees, in the bonds or stock of any private corporation. 

Sec. 37. The power to change the venue in civil and criminal 
cases shall be vested in the courts, to be exercised in such manner 
as shall be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 38. No obligation or liability of any person, association or 
corporation, held or owned by the State, or any municipal corpora- 
tion therein, shall ever be exchanged, transferred, remitted, released, 
or postponed, or in any way diminished, by the General Assembly, 
nor shall such liability or obligation be extinguished except by pay- 
ment thereof into the proper treasury. 

Sec. 39. Every order, resolution or vote to which the concur- 
rence of both Houses may be necessary, except on the question of 
adjournment, or relating solely to the transaction of business of the 
two Houses, shall be presented to the Governor, and before it shall 
take effect, be approved by him, or being disapproved, shall be re- 
passed by two-thirds of both Houses, according to the rules and 
limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 

Sec. 40. If any person elected to either House of the General 
Assembly shall offer or promise to give his vote or influence in 
favor of or against any measure or proposition, pending or proposed 
to be introduced in the General Assembly, in consideration or upon 
condition that any other person elected to the same General As- 
sembly will give, or will promise, or assent to give his vote or in- 
fluence in favor of or against any other measure or proposition, 
pending or proposed to be introduced in such General Assembly, 
the person making such offer or promise shall be deemed guilty of 
solicitation of bribery. If any member of the General Assembly 
shall give his vote or influence for or against any measure or pro- 
position pending in such General Assembly, or offer, promise or 
assent so to do, upon condition that any other member will give or 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO, 117 

will promise, or assent to give his vote or influence in favor of or 
against any other measure or proposition pending or proposed to 
be introduced in such General Asserhbly, or in consideration that 
any other member hath given his vote or influence for or against 
any other measure or proposition in such General Assembly, he 
shall be deemed guilty of bribery, and any member of the General 
Assembly, or person elected thereto, who shall be guilty of either 
of such offenses shall be expelled, and shall not be thereafter eli- 
gible to the same General Assembly ; and on conviction thereof in 
the civil courts shall be liable to such further penalty as may be 
prescribed by law. 

Sec. 41. Any person who shall directly or indirectly offer, give 
or promise any money or thing of value, testimonial, privilege, or 
personal advantage to any executive or judicial officer or member 
of the General Assembly, to influence him in the performance of 
any of his public or official duties, shall be deemed guilty of bribery, 
and be punished in such manner as shall be provided by law. 

Sec. 42. The offense of corrupt solicitation of members of the 
General Assembly, or of public officers of the State, or of any 
municipal division thereof, and any occupation or practice of solici- 
tation of such members or officers, to influence their official action, 
shall be defined by law, and shall be punished by fine and impris- 
onment. 

Sec. 43. A member who has a personal or private interest in 
any measure or bill proposed or pending before the General As- 
sembly, shall disclose the fact to the House of which he is a mem- 
ber, and shall not vote thereon. 

congressional and legislative apportionments. 

Sec. 44. One representative in the Congress of the United States 
shall be elected from the State at large, at the first election under 
this Constitution, and thereafter at such times and places, and in 
such manner as may be prescribed by law. When a new appor- 
tionment shall be made by Congress, the General Assembly shall 
divide the State into congressional districts accordingly. 

Sec. 45. The General Assembly shall provide by law for an 
enumeration of the inhabitants of the State in the year of our Lord 
1885, and every tenth year thereafter; and at the session next 
following such enumeration, and also at the session next following 
an enumeration made by the authority of the United States, shall 
revise and adjust the apportionment for Senators and Representa- 
tives on the basis of such enumeration, according to ratios to be 
fixed by law. 



118 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 

Sec. 46. The Senate shall consist of twenty -six, and the House 
of Representatives of forty-nine members, which number shall not 
be increased until the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
and ninety, after which time the General Assembly may increase 
the number of Senators and Representatives, preserving as near as 
may be the present proportion as to the number in each House ; 
Provided, That the aggregate number of Senators and Representa- 
tives shall never exceed one hundred.^ 

Sec. 47. Senatorial and representative districts may be altered 
from time to time, as public convenience may require. When a 
senatorial or representative district shall be composed of two or 
more counties, they shall be contiguous, and the district as compact 
as may be. No county shall be divided in the formation of a 
senatorial or representative district. 

Sec. 48. Until the State shall be divided into senatorial districts, 
in accordance with the provisions of this article, said districts shall 
be constituted and numbered as follows : 

The county of Weld shall constitute the first district, and be 
entitled to one Senator. 

The county of Larimer shall constitute the second district, and 
be entitled to one Senator. 

The county of Boulder shall constitute the third district, and be 
entitled to two Senators. 

The county of Gilpin shall constitute the fourth district, and be 
entitled to one Senator. 

The counties of Gilpin, Summit and Grand shall constitute the 
fifth district, and be entitled to one Senator. 

The county of Clear Creek shall constitute the sixth district, and 
be entitled to two Senators. 

The county of Jefferson shall constitute the seventh district, and 
be entitled to one Senator. 

The county of Arapahoe shall constitute the eighth district, and 
be entitled to four Senators. 

The counties of Elbert and Bent shall constitute the ninth dis- 
trict, and be entitled to one Senator. 

The county of El Paso shall constitute the tenth district, and be 
entitled to one Senator. 

The county of Douglas shall constitute the eleventh district, and 
be entitled to one Senator. 

The county of Park shall constitute the twelfth district, and be 
entitled to one Senator. 

1 See note 2, page 30. 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO, 119 

The counties of Lake and Saguache shall constitute the thir- 
teenth district, and be entitled to one Senator. 

The county of Fremont s'hall constitute the fourteenth district, 
and be entitled to one Senator. 

The county of Pueblo shall constitute the fifteenth district, and 
be entitled to one Senator. 

The county of Huerfano shall constitute the sixteenth district, 
and be entitled to one Senator. 

The county of Las Animas shall constitute the seventeenth dis- 
trict, and be entitled to two Senators. 

The county of Costilla shall constitute the eighteenth district, 
and be entitled to one Senator. 

The county of Conejos shall constitute the nineteenth district, 
and be entitled to one Senator. 

The counties of Rio Grande, Hinsdale, La Plata and San Juan 
shall constitute the twentieth district, and be entitled to one 
Senator. 

Sec. 49. Until an apportionment of Representatives be made 
in accordance with the provisions of this article, they shall be 
divided among the several counties of the State in the following 
manner : The county of Arapahoe shall have seven ; the counties 
of Boulder and Clear Creek, each, four ; the counties of Gilpin 
and Las Animas, each, three ; the counties of El Paso, Fremont, 
Huerfano, Jefferson, Pueblo and Weld, each, two; the counties of 
Bent, Costilla, Conejos, Douglas, Elbert, Grand, Hinsdale, Larimer, 
La Plata, Lake, Park, Rio Grande, Summit, Saguache and San Juan, 
each, one; and the counties of Costilla and Conejos, jointly, one. 

ARTICLE VL 

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

Section i. The judicial power of the State as to matters of law 
and equity, except as in the Constitution otherwise provided, shall 
be vested in a supreme court, district courts, county courts, justices 
of the peace, and such other courts as may be provided by law. 

supreme court. 

Sec. 2. The supreme court, except as otherwise provided in this 
Constitution, shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which shall be 
co-extensive with the State, and shall have a general superintend- 
ing control over all inferior courts, under such regulations and limi- 
tations as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 3. It shall have power to issue writs of habeas corpus, 



120 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 

mandamus, quo warranto, certiorari, injunction, and other original 
and remedial writs, with authority to hear and determine the same ; 
and each judge of the supreme court shall have like power and 
authority as to writs of habeas corpus. The supreme court shall 
give its opinion upon important questions upon solemn occasions 
when required by the Governor, the Senate, or the House of Rep- 
resentatives ; and all such opinions shall be published in connec- 
tion with the reported decisions of said court. 

Sec. 4. At least two terms of the supreme court shall be held 
each year at the seat of government. 

Sec. 5. The supreme court shall consist of three judges, a 
majority of whom shall be necessary to form a quorum or pro- 
nounce a decision. 

Sec. 6. The judges of the supreme court shall be elected by 
the electors of the State at large as hereinafter provided. 

Sec. 7. The term of office of the judges of the supreme court, 
except as in this article otherwise provided, shall be nine years. 

Sec. 8. The judges of the supreme court shall immediately 
after the first election under this Constitution be classified by lot so 
that one shall hold his office for the term of three years, one for the 
term of six years, and one for the term of nine years. The lot 
shall be drawn by the judges, who shall for that purpose assemble 
at the seat of government, and they shall cause the result thereof 
to be certified to the Secretary of the Territory, and filed in his 
office. The judge having the shortest term to serve, not holding 
his office by appointment or election to fill a vacancy, shall be the 
chief justice, and shall preside at all terms of the supreme court, 
and, in case of his absence, the judge having in like manner the 
next shortest term to serve shall preside in his stead. 

Sec. 9. There shall be a clerk of the supreme court, who shall 
be appointed by the judges thereof, and shall hold his office during 
the pleasure of said judges, and whose duties and emoluments shall 
be as prescribed by law, and by the rules of the supreme court. 

Sec. 10. No person shall be eligible to the office of judge of 
the supreme court unless he be learned in the law, be at least thirty 
years of age, and a citizen of the United States, nor unless he shall 
have resided in this State or Territory at least two years next pre- 
ceding his election. 

district courts. 
Sec. II. The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of 
all causes, both at law and in equity, and such appellate jurisdic- 
tion as may be conferred by law. They shall have original juris- 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 121 

diction to determine all controversies upon relation of any person 
on behalf of the people, ccoicerning the rights, duties and liabili- 
ties of railroad, telegraph or toll-road companies or corporations. 

Sec. 12. The State shall be divided into judicial districts, in 
each of which there shall be elected by the electors thereof, one or 
more judges of the district court therein, as may be provided by 
law, whose terms of office shall be six years ; the judges of the 
district courts may hold courts for each other, and shall do so when 
required by law, and the General Assembly may, by law, provide 
for the selection or election of a suitable person to preside in the 
trial of causes in special cases. 

Sec. 13. Until otherwise provided by law, said districts shall be 
four in number, and constituted as follows, viz : 

Hrs/ District. — The counties of Boulder, Jefferson, Gilpin, Clear 
Creek, Summit and Grand. 

Second District. — The counties of Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert, 
Weld and Larimer. 

Third District. — The counties of Park, El Paso, Fremont, 
Pueblo, Bent, Las Animas and Huerfano. 

Fourth District. — The counties of Costilla, Conejos, Rio Grande, 
San Juan, La Plata, Hinsdale, Saguache and Lake.* 

Sec. 14. The General Assembly may (whenever two-thirds of 
the members of each house shall concur therein ) increase or dimin- 
ish the number of judges for any district, or increase or diminish 
the number of judicial districts, and the judges thereof. Such dis- 
tricts shall be formed of compact territory, and bounded by county 
lines ; but such increase, diminution or change in the boundaries 
of a district shall not work the removal of any judge from his 
office during the term for which he shall have been elected or 
appointed. 

Sec. 15. The judges of the district court first elected shall be 
chosen at the first general election. The General Assembly may 
provide that, after the year eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, 
the election of the judges of the supreme, district and county 
courts, and the district attorneys, or any of them, shall be on a 
different day from that on which an election is held for any other 
purpose, and for that purpose may extend or abridge the term of 
office of any such officers then holding, but not in any case more 
than six months. Until otherwise provided by law, such officers 
shall be elected at the time of holding the general elections. The 
terms of office of all judges of the district court elected in the sev- 

1 See note i, page 50. 

L 



122 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 

eral districts throughout the State, shall expire on the same day ; 
and the terms of office of the district attorneys elected in the sev- 
eral districts throughout the State shall, in like manner, expire on 
the same day. 

Sec. 1 6. No person shall be eligible to the office of district 
judge unless he be learned in the law, be at least thirty years old, 
and a citizen of the United States, nor unless he shall have resided 
in the State or Territory at least two years next preceding his elec- 
tion, nor unless he shall, at the time of his election, be an elector 
within the judicial district for which he is elected; Provided, That 
at the first election any person of the requisite age and learning, and 
who is an elector of the Territory of Colorado, under the laws 
thereof, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be 
eligible to the office of judge of the district court of the judicial 
district within which he is an elector. 

Sec. 17. The time of holding courts within the said districts 
shall be as provided by law, but at least one term of the district 
court shall be held annually in each county, except in such coun- 
ties as may be attached, for judicial purposes, to another county, 
wherein such courts are so held. This shall not be construed to 
prevent the holding of special terms, under such regulations as may 
be provided by law. 

Sec. 18. The judges of the supreme and district courts shall 
each receive such salary as may be provided by law, and no such 
judge shall receive any other compensation, perquisite or emolu- 
ment for or on account of his office, in any form whatever, nor act 
as attorney or counsellor at law. 

Sec. 19. There shall be a clerk of the district court in each 
county wherein a term is held, who shall be appointed by the judge 
of the district, to hold his office during the pleasure of the judge. 
His duties and compensation shall be as provided by law and regu- 
lated by the rules of the court. 

Sec. 20. Until the General Assembly shall provide by law for 
fixing the terms of the courts aforesaid, the judges of the supreme 
and district courts, respectively, shall fix the terms thereof. 



DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. 

Sec. 21. There shall be elected by the qualified electors of each 
judicial district, at each regular election for judges of the supreme 
court, a district attorney for such district, whose term of office shall 
be three years, and whose duties and compensations shall be as 
provided by law. No person shall be eligible to the office of dis- 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 123 

trict attorney who shall not, at the time of his election, be at least 
twenty-five years of age, and possess all the other qualifications 
forjudges of district courts, as prescribed in this article. 

COUNTY COURTS. 

Sec. 22. There shall be elected at the general election in each 
organized county in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, 
and every three years thereafter, except as otherwise provided in 
this article, a county judge, who shall be judge of the county court 
of said county, whose term of office shall be three years, and whose 
compensation shall be as may be provided by law. 

Sec. 23. County courts shall be courts of record and shall have 
original jurisdiction in all matters of probate, settlement of estates 
of deceased persons, appointment of guardians, conservators and 
administrators, and settlement of their accounts, and such other 
civil and criminal jurisdiction as may be conferred by law ; Pro- 
vided, Such courts shall not have jurisdiction in any case where 
the debt, damage or claim, or value of property involved, shall 
exceed two thousand dollars, except in cases relating to the estates 
of deceased persons. 

Appeals may be taken from county to district courts, or to the 
supreme court, in such cases and in such manner as may be pre- 
scribed by law. Writs of error shall lie from the supreme court to 
every final judgment of the county court. No appeal shall lie to 
the district court from any judgment given upon an appeal from a 
justice of the peace. 

CRIMINAL COURT. 

Sec. 24. The General Assembly shall have power to create and 
establish a criminal court in each county having a population 
exceeding fifteen thousand, which court may have concurrent 
jurisdiction with the district courts in all criminal cases not capital i< 
the term of such courts to be as provided by law.^ 

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. 

Sec. 25. Justices of the peace shall have such jurisdiction as 
may be conferred by law; but they shall not have jurisdiction of 
any case wherein the value of the property or the amount in con- 
troversy exceeds the sum of three hundred dollars, nor where the 
boundaries or title to real property shall be called in question. 

iSeegss, page 51. 



124 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 



POLICE MAGISTRATES. 

Sec. 26. The General Assembly shall have power to provide 
for creating such police magistrates for cities and towns as may be 
deemed from time to time necessary or expedient ; who shall have 
jurisdiction of all cases arising under the ordinances of such 
cities and towns respectively. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Sec. 27. The judges of courts of record, inferior to the supreme 
court, shall on or before the first day in July in each year, report 
in writing to the judges of the supreme court such defects and 
omissions in the laws as their knowledge and experience may 
suggest, and the judges of the supreme court shall, on or before 
the first day of December of each year, report in writing to the 
Governor, to be by him transmitted to the General Assembly, 
together with his message, such defects and omissions in the Con- 
stitution and laws as they may find to exist, together with appro- 
priate bills for curing the same. 

Sec. 28. All laws relating to courts shall be general and of 
uniform operation throughout the State ; and the organization, 
jurisdiction, powers, proceedings and practice of all the courts of 
the same class or grade, so far as regulated by law, and the force 
and effect of the proceedings, judgments and decrees of such 
courts severally, shall be uniform. 

Sec. 29. All officers provided for in this article, excepting 
judges of the supreme court, shall respectively reside in the 
district, county, precinct, city or town for which they may be 
elected or appointed. Vacancies occurring in any of the offices 
provided for in this article shall be filled by appointment as 
follows : Of judges of the supreme and district courts, by the 
Governor; of district attorneys, by the judge of the court of the 
district for which such attorney was elected; and of all other judi- 
cial officers, by the Board of County Commissioners of the county 
wherein the vacancy occurs. Judges of the supreme, district and 
county courts appointed under the provisions of this section shall 
hold office until the next general election and until their successors 
elected thereat shall be duly qualified. 

Sec. 30. All process shall run in the name of " The People 
of the State of Colorado," all prosecutions shall be carried on in 
the name and by the authority of " The People of the State of 
Colorado," and conclude, " against the peace and dignity of the 
same." 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 125 

ARTICLE VII. 

SUFFRAGE AND ELECTIONS. 

Section i . Every male person over the age of twenty-one years 
possessing the following qualifications, shall be entitled to vote at 
all elections. 

First — He shall be a citizen of the United States, or, not being 
a citizen of the United States, he shall have declared his intention, 
according to law, to become such citizen, not less than four months 
before he offers to vote. 

Second — He shall have resided in the State six months immedi- 
ately preceding the election at which he offers to vote, and in the 
county, city, town, ward or precinct, such time as may be prescribed 
by law ; Provided, That no person shall be denied the right to vote 
at any school district election, nor to hold any school district office, 
on account of sex. 

Sec. 2. The General Assembly shall, at the first session thereof, 
and may at any subsequent session, enact laws to extend the right 
of suffrage to women of lawful age, and otherwise qualified accord- 
ing to the provisions of this article.^ No such enactment shall be 
of effect until submitted to the vote of the qualified electors at a 
general election, nor unless the same be approved by a majority 
of those voting thereon. 

Sec. 3. The General Assembly may prescribe by law an edu- 
cational qualification for electors ; but no such law shall take effect 
prior to the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
ninety (1890), and no qualified elector shall be thereby dis- 
qualified. 

Sec. 4. For the purpose of voting and eligibility to office, no 
person shall be deemed to have gained a residence by reason of 
his presence, or lost it by reason of his absence, while in the civil 
or military service of the State, or of the L^nited States, nor while 
a student at any institution of learning, nor while kept at public 
expense in any poor-house or other asylum, nor while confined in 
public prison. 

Sec. 5. Voters shall in all cases, except treason, felony or 
breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attend- 
ance at elections, and in going to and returning therefrom. 

Sec. 6. No person except a qualified elector shall be elected or 
appointed to any civil or military office in the State. 

Sec. 7. The general election shall be held on the first Tuesday 

iThe right of suffrage was extended to women in 1893. See § 31, page 29. 



126 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 

in October in the years of our Lord eighteen hundred and seventy- 
six, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, and eighteen hundred 
and seventy-eight, and annually thereafter on such day as may be 
prescribed by law.^ 

Sec. 8. All elections by the people shall be by ballot ; every 
ballot voted shall be numbered in the order in which it shall be 
received, and the number be recorded by the election officers on 
the list of voters opposite the name of the voter who presents the 
ballot. The election officers shall be sworn or affirmed not to 
enquire or disclose how any elector shall have voted. In all cases 
of contested elections the ballots cast may be counted, compared 
with the list of voters, and examined under such safeguards and 
regulations as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 9. In trials of contested elections and for offenses arising 
under the election law no person shall be permitted to withhold his 
testimony on the ground that it may criminate himself, or subject 
him to public infamy ; but such testimony shall not be used against 
him in any judicial proceeding, except for perjury in giving such 
testimony. 

Sec. 10. No person while confined in any public prison shall 
be entitled to vote; but every such person who was a qualified 
elector prior to such imprisonment, and who is released therefrom 
by virtue of a pardon, or by virtue of having served out his full 
term of imprisonment, shall, without further action, be invested 
with all the rights of citizenship, except as otherwise provided in 
this Constitution. 

Sec. 1 1 . The General Assembly shall pass laws to secure the 
purity of elections, and guard against abuses of the elective fran- 
chise. 

Sec. 12. The General Assembly shall, by general law, desig- 
nate the courts and judges by whom the several classes of election 
contests, not herein provided for, shall be tried, and regulate the 
manner of trial, and all matters incident thereto; but no such law 
shall apply to any contest arising out of an election held before its 
passage. 

ARTICLE VIIL 

STATE INSTITUTIONS. 

Section i. Educational, reformatory and penal institutions, 
and those for the benefit of the insane, blind, deaf and mute, and 
such other institutions as the public good may require, shall be 

1 The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November has been prescribed by law 
as the day on which the general election shall be held. 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 127 

established and supported by the State, in such manner as may be 
prescribed by law. 

Sec. 2. The General Assembly shall have no power to change 
or locate the seat of government of the State, but shall at its first 
session subsequent to the year of our Lord one thousand eight hun- 
dred and eighty, provide by law for submitting the question of the 
permanent location of the seat of government to the qualified 
electors of the State, at the general election then next ensuing, 
and a majority of all the votes upon said question cast at said elec- 
tion shall be necessary to determine the location thereof. Said Gen- 
eral Assembly shall also provide that in case there shall be no choice 
of location at said election, the question of choice between the two 
places for which the highest number of votes shall have been cast 
shall be submitted in like manner to the qualified electors of the 
State at the next general election ; Provided, That until the seat of 
government shall have been permanently located as herein pro- 
vided, the temporary location thereof shall remain at the city of 
Denver. 

Sec. 3. When the seat of government shall have been located 
as herein provided, the location thereof shall not thereafter be 
changed, except by a vote of two-thirds of all the qualified electors 
of the State voting on that question, at a general election, at which 
the question of location of the seat of government shall have been 
submitted by the General Assembly. 

Sec. 4. The General Assembly shall make no appropriation or 
expenditure for capitol buildings or grounds, until the seat of gov- 
ernment shall have been permanently located, as herein provided. 

Sec. 5. The following Territorial institutions, to wit : The Uni- 
versity at Boulder, the Agricultural College at Fort Collins, the 
School of Mines at Golden, the Institute for the Education of Mutes 
at Colorado Springs, shall, upon the adoption of this Constitution, 
become institutions of the State of Colorado, and the management 
thereof subject to the control of the State, under such laws and 
regulations as the General Assembly shall provide ; and the loca- 
tion of said institutions, as well as all gifts, grants, and appropri- 
ations of money and property, real and personal, heretofore made 
to said several institutions, are hereby confirmed to the use and 
benefit of the same respectively ; Provided, This section shall not 
apply to any institution, the property, real or personal, of which is 
now vested in the trustees thereof, until such property be trans- 
ferred by proper conveyance, together with the control thereof, to 
the officers provided for the management of said institution by this 
Constitution, or by law. 



128 CONSTITUTION OF COLOR ADO, 

ARTICLE IX. 

EDUCATION. 

Section i. The general supervision of the public schools of 
the State shall be vested in a board of education, whose powers 
and duties shall be prescribed by law ; the Superintendent of Pub- 
lic Instruction, the Secretary of State and Attorney-General shall 
constitute the board, of which the Superintendent of Public In- 
struction shall be president. 

Sec. 2. The General Assembly shall, as soon as practicable, 
provide for the establishment and maintenance of a thorough and 
uniform system of free public schools throughout the State, wherein 
all the residents of the State between the ages of six and twenty- 
one years may be educated gratuitously. One or more public 
schools shall be maintained in each school district within the State, 
at least three months in each year ; any school district faihng to 
have such school shall not be entitled to receive any portion of the 
school fund for that year. 

Sec. 3. The public school fund of the State shall forever re- 
main inviolate and intact ; the interest thereon only shall be ex- 
pended in the maintenance of the schools of the State, and shall 
be distributed amongst the several counties and school districts of 
the State, in such manner as may be prescribed by law. No part 
of this fund, principal or interest, shall ever be transferred to any 
other fund, or used or appropriated except as herein provided. The 
State Treasurer shall be the custodian of this fund, and the same 
shall be securely and profitably invested as may be by law directed. 
The State shall supply all losses thereof that may in any manner 
occur. 

Sec. 4. Each county treasurer shall collect all school funds be- 
longing to his county and the several school districts therein, and 
disburse the same to the proper districts upon warrants drawn by 
the county superintendent or by the proper district authorities, as 
may be provided by law. 

Sec 5. The public school fund of the State shall consist of the 
proceeds of such lands as have heretofore been, or may hereafter 
be, granted to the State by the general government for educational 
purposes ; all estates that may escheat to the State ; also all other 
grants, gifts or devices that may be made to this State for educa- 
tional purposes. 

Sec. 6. There shall be a county superintendent of schools in 
each county, whose term of office shall be two years, and whose 
duties, qualifications and compensation shall be prescribed by law. 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 129 

\\t shall be ex-officio commissioner of lands within his county, and 
shall discharge the duties of said office under the direction of the 
State board of land commissioners, as directed by law. 

Sec. 7. Neither the General Assembly, nor any county, city, 
town, township, school district or other public corporation, shall 
ever make any appropriation, or pay from any public fund or 
moneys whatever, anything in aid of any church or sectarian 
society, or for any sectarian purpose, or to help support or sustain 
any school, academy, seminary, college, university or other lite- 
rary or scientific institution, controlled by any church or sectarian 
denomination whatsoever ; nor shall any grant or donation of land, 
money or other personal property, ever be made by the State, or 
any such public corporation, to any church or for any sectarian 
purpose. 

Sec. 8. No religious test or qualification shall ever be required 
of any person as a condition of admission into any public educa- 
tional institution of the State, either as teacher or student ; and no 
teacher or student of any such institution shall ever be required to 
attend or participate in any religious service whatever. No secta- 
rian tenets or doctrines shall ever be taught in the public schools, 
nor shall any distinction or classification of pupils be made on ac- 
count of race or color. 

Sec. 9. The Governor, Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
Secretary of State and Attorney- General shall constitute the State 
Board of Land Commissioners, who shall have the direction, control 
and disposition of the public lands of the State, under such regula- 
tions as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 10. It shall be the duty of the State Board of Land Com- 
missioners to provide for the location, protection, sale or other 
disposition of all the lands heretofore or which may hereafter be 
granted to the State by the general government, under such regula- 
tions as may be prescribed by law, and in such manner as will 
secure the maximum possible amount therefor. No law shall ever 
be passed by the General Assembly granting any privileges to 
persons who may have settled upon any such public lands subse- 
quent to the survey thereof by the general government, by which 
the amount to be derived by the sale, or other disposition of such 
lands, shall be diminished, directly or indirectly. The General 
Assembly shall, at the earliest practicable period, provide by law 
that the several grants of land made by Congress to the State shall 
be judiciously located and carefully preserved and held in trust 
subject to disposal, for the use and benefit of the respective objects 
for which said grants of land were made ; and the General 
9— Col 



130 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO, 

Assembly shall provide for the sale of said lands from time to time ; 
and for the faithful application of the proceeds thereof in accord- 
ance with the terms of said grants. 

Sec. II. The General Assembly may require, by law, that 
every child of sufficient mental and physical ability shall attend the 
public school during the period between the ages of six and eight- 
een years, for a time equivalent to three years, unless educated by 
other means. 

Sec. 12. There shall be elected by the qualified electors of 
the State, at the first general election under this Constitution, six 
regents of the university, who shall immediately after their election 
be so classified, by lot, that two shall hold their office for the term 
of two years, two for four years, and two for six years ; and every 
two years after the first election there shall be elected two regents 
of the university, whose term of office shall be six years. The 
regents thus elected, and their successors, shall constitute a body 
corporate, to be known by the name and style of "The Regents 
of the University of Colorado." 

Sec. 13. The regents of the university shall, at their first 
meeting, or as soon thereafter as practicable, elect a president of 
the university, who shall hold his office until removed by the board 
of regents for cause ; he shall be, ex-officio, a member of the board, 
with the privilege of speaking, but not of voting, except in cases 
of a tie ; he shall preside at the meetings of the board, and be 
the principal executive officer of the university, and a member of 
the faculty thereof. 

Sec. 14. The board of regents shall have the general super- 
vision of the university, and the exclusive control and direction 
of all funds of, and appropriations for, the university. 

Sec. 15. The General Assembly shall, by law, provide for 
organization of school districts of convenient size, in each of which 
shall be established a board of education, to consist of three or 
more directors, to be elected by the qualified electors of the dis- 
trict. Said directors shall have control of instruction in the public 
schools of their respective districts. 

Sec. 16. Neither the General Assembly nor the State Board 
of Education shall have power to prescribe text books to be used 
in the public schools. 

ARTICLE X. 

REVENUE, 

Section i. The fiscal year shall commence on the first day 
of October in each year, unless otherwise provided by law.^ 

1 The fiscal year now begins on the first day of December of each year. 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 131 

Sec. 2. The GeneVal Assembly shall provide by law for an 
annual tax, sufficient, with other resources, to defray the estimated 
expenses of the State Government for each fiscal year. 

Spx. 3. All taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of 
subjects within the territorial limits of the authority levying the 
tax and shall be levied and collected under general laws which 
shall prescribe such regulations as shall secure a just valuation for 
the taxation of all property, real and personal ; Proznded, That 
the household goods of every person being the head of a family, 
to the value of two hundred dollars, shall be exempt from taxa- 
tion. Ditches, canals, and flumes owned and used by individuals 
or corporations for irrigating land owned by such individuals or 
corporations, or the individual members thereof, shall not be sepa- 
rately taxed so long as they shall be owned and used exclusively 
for such purpose; And provided further. That the provisions of 
this section shall not affect such special assessments for benefits 
and municipal improvements as the corporate authorities of cities, 
towns or improvement districts may assess and collect under pro- 
visions to be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 4. The property, real and personal, of the State, counties, 
cities, towns and other municipal corporations, and public libraries, 
shall be exempt from taxation. 

Sec. 5. Lots with the buildings thereon, if said buildings are 
used solely and exclusively for religious worship, for schools or for 
strictly charitable purposes, also cemeteries not used or held for 
private or corporate profit, shall be exempt from taxation, unless 
otherwise provided by general law. 

Sec. 6. All laws exempting from taxation property other than 
that hereinbefore mentioned shall be void. 

Sec. 7. The General Assembly shall not impose taxes for the 
purposes of any county, city, town, or other municipal corporation, 
but may by law vest in the corporate authorities thereof respec- 
tively the power to assess and collect taxes for all purposes of such 
corporation. 

Sec. 8. No county, city, town, or other municipal corporation, 
the inhabitants thereof, nor the property therein, shall be released 
or discharged from their or its proportionate share of taxes to be 
levied for State purposes. 

Sec. 9. The power to tax corporations and corporate property, 
real and personal, shall never be relinquished or suspended. 

Sec. 10. All corporations in this State, or doing business 
therein, shall be subject to taxation for State, county, school, 
municipal, and other purposes, on the real and personal property 



132 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO, 

owned or used by them within the territorial Hmits of the authority 
levying the tax. 

Sec. 1 1 . The rate of taxation on property for State purposes, 
shall never exceed four mills on each dollar of valuation. 

Sec. 12. The treasurer shall keep a separate account of each 
fund in his hands ; and shall, at the end of each quarter of the 
fiscal year, report to the Governor in writing, under oath, the 
amount of all moneys in his hands to the credit of every such 
fund, and the place where the same are kept or deposited, and 
the number and amount of every warrant received, and the 
number and amount of every warrant paid therefrom during the 
quarter. Swearing falsely to any such report shall be deemed 
perjury. The Governor shall cause every such report to be imme- 
diately published in at least one newspaper printed at the seat of 
government, and otherwise as the General Assembly may require. 
The General Assembly may provide by law further regulations for 
the safe keeping and management of the public funds in the hands 
of the treasurer, but, notwithstanding any such regulation, the 
treasurer and his sureties shall in all cases be held responsible 
therefor. 

Sec. 13. The making of profit, directly or indirectly, out of 
State, county, city, town or school-district money, or using the 
same for any purpose not authorized by law, by any public officer, 
shall be deemed a felony, and shall be punished as provided by 
law. 

Sec. 14. Private property shall not be taken or sold for the 
payment of the corporate debt of municipal corporations. 

Sec. 15. There shall be a State Board of Equalization, consist- 
ing of the Governor, State Auditor, State Treasurer, Secretary of 
State, and Attorney-General ; also, in each county of this State, a 
county board of equalization, consisting of the board of county 
commissioners of said county. The duty of the State Board of 
Equalization shall be to adjust and equalize the valuation of real 
and personal property among the several counties of the State. 
The duty of the county boards of equalization shall be to adjust 
and equalize the valuation of real and personal property within 
their respective counties. Each board shall also perform such 
other duties as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 16. No appropriation shall be made nor any expenditure 
authorized by the General Assembly whereby the expenditure of 
the State during any fiscal year shall exceed the total tax then 
provided for by law and applicable for such appropriation or 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 133 

expenditure unless the General Assembly making such appropria- 
tion shall provide for levying a sufficient tax not exceeding the 
rates allowed in section eleven of this article to pay such appropria- 
tion or expenditure within such fiscal year. This provision shall 
not apply to appropriations or expenditures to suppress insurrec- 
tion, defend the State, or assist in defending the United States in 
time of war. 

ARTICLE XI. 

PUBLIC INDEBTEDNESS. 

Section i. Neither the State nor any county, city, town, town- 
ship or school district shall lend or pledge the creditor faith thereof, 
directly or indirecdy, in any manner to or in aid of any person, 
company or corporation, pubhc or private, for any amount or for 
any purpose whatever, or become responsible for any debt, con- 
tract or liability of any person, company or corporation, public or 
private, in or out of the State. 

Sec. 2. Neither the State nor any county, city, town, township 
or school district, shall make any donation or grant to, or in aid 
of, or become a subscriber to, or shareholder in, any corporation or 
company, or a joint owner with any person, company or corpora- 
tion, public or private, in or out of the State, except as to such 
ownership as may accrue to the State by escheat, or by forfeiture, 
by operation or provision of law ; and except as to such ownership 
as may accrue to the State, or to any county, city, town, township 
or school district, or to either or any of them, jointly with any 
person, company or corporation, by forfeiture or sale of real estate 
for non-payment of taxes, or by donation or devise for public use, 
or by purchase by or on behalf of any or either of them, jointly 
with any or either of them, under execution in cases of fines, 
penalties or forfeiture of recognizance, breach of condition of 
official bond, or of bond to secure' public moneys, or the perform- 
ance of any contract in which they or any of them may be jointly 
or severally interested. 

Sec. 3. The State shall not contract any debt by loan in any 
form except to provide for casual deficiencies of revenue, erect 
public buildings for use of the State, suppress insurrection, defend 
the State, or, in time of war, assist in defending the United States ; 
and the amount of the debt contracted in any one year to provide 
for deficiencies of revenue shall not exceed one-fourth of a mill on 
each dollar of valuation of taxable property within the State, and 
the aggregate amount of such debt shall not at any time exceed 

M 



134 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO, 

three- fourths of a mill on each dollar of said valuation until the 
valuation shall equal one hundred millions of dollars, and there- 
after such debt shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars, and 
the debt incurred in any one year for erection of public buildings 
shall not exceed one-half mill on each dollar of said valuation, 
and the aggregate amount of such debt shall never at any time 
exceed the sum of fifty thousand dollars (except as provided in 
section five of this article), and in all cases the valuation in this 
section mentioned shall be that of the assessment last preceding 
the creation of said debt. 

Sec. 4. In no case shall any debt above mentioned in this 
article be created except by a law which shall be irrepealable until 
the indebtedness therein provided for shall have been fully paid or 
discharged ; such law shall specify the purposes to which the funds 
so raised shall be applied, and provide for the levy of a tax suffi- 
cient to pay the interest on, and extinguish the principal of such 
debt within the time limited by such law for the payment thereof, 
which in the case of debts contracted for the erection of public 
buildings and supplying deficiencies of revenue, shall not be less 
than ten nor more than fifteen years, and the funds arising from 
the collection of any such tax shall not be applied to any other 
purpose than that provided in the law levying the same ; and when 
the debt thereby created shall be paid or discharged, such tax shall 
cease, and the balance, if any, to the credit of the fund, shall 
immediately be placed to the credit of the general fund of the 
State. 

Sec. 5. A debt for the purpose of erecting public buildings 
may be created by law, as provided for in section four of this 
article, not exceeding in the aggregate three mills on each dollar 
of said valuation ; Provided, That before going into effect such law 
shall be ratified by the vote of a majority of such qualified electors 
of the State as shall vote thereon at a general election, under such 
regulations as the General Assembly may prescribe. 

Sec. 6. No county shall contract any debt by loan in any form 
except for the purpose of erecting necessary public buildings, mak- 
ing or repairing public roads and bridges ; and such indebtedness 
contracted in any one year shall not exceed the rates upon the tax- 
able property in such county following, to wit : Counties in which 
the assessed valuation of taxable property shall exceed five millions 
of dollars, one dollar and fifty cents on each thousand dollars 
thereof; Counties in which such valuation shall be less than five 
millions of dollars, three dollars on each thousand dollars thereof; 
And the aggregate amount of indebtedness of any county for all 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 135 

purposes, exclusive of debts contracted before the adoption of this 
Constitution, shall not at any time exceed twice the amount above 
herein limited, unless when in manner provided by law, the ques- 
tion of incurring such debt shall, at a general election, be sub- 
mitted to such of the qualified electors of such county as in the 
year last preceding such election shall have paid a tax upon 
property assessed to them in such county, and a majority of those 
voting thereon shall vote in favor of incurring the debt; but the 
bonds, if any be issued therefor, shall not run less than ten years, 
and the aggregate amount of debt so contracted shall not at any 
time exceed twice the rate upon the valuation last herein men- 
tioned ; Provided, That any county in this State which has an 
indebtedness outstanding, either in the form of warrants issued for 
purposes provided by law prior to December 31, a. d. 1886, or in 
the form of funding bonds issued prior to such date for such 
warrants previously outstanding, or in the form of public building, 
road or bridge bonds outstanding at such date, may contract a debt 
by loan by the issuance of bonds for the purpose of liquidating 
such indebtedness, provided the question of issuing said bonds 
shall, at a general or special election called for that purpose, be 
submitted to the vote of such of the duly qualified electors of such 
county as in the year last preceding such election shall have paid 
a tax upon property assessed in such county, and the majority of 
those voting thereon shall vote in favor of issuing the bonds. Such 
election shall be held in the manner prescribed by the laws of this 
State for the issuance of road, bridge and public building bonds, 
and the bonds authorized at such election shall be issued and pro- 
vision made for their redemption in the same manner as provided 
in said law. 

Sec. 7. No debt by loan in any form shall be contracted by 
any school district for the purpose of erecting and furnishing school 
buildings, or purchasing grounds, unless the proposition to create 
such debt shall first be submitted to such quahfied electors of the 
district as shall have paid a school tax therein in the year next pre- 
ceding such election, and a majority of those voting thereon shall 
vote in favor of incurring such debt. 

Sec. 8. No city or town shall contract any debt by loan in any 
form, except by means of an ordinance, which shall be irrepealable, 
until the indebtedness therein provided for shall have been fully 
paid or discharged ; specifying the purposes to which the funds to 
be raised shall be appHed, and providing for the levy of a tax, not 
exceeding twelve (12) mills on each dollar of valuation of taxable 
property within such city or town, sufficient to pay the annual in- 



136 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO, 

terest, and extinguish the principal of such debt within fifteen, but 
not less than ten years from the creation thereof; and such tax 
when collected shall be applied only to the purposes in such ordi- 
nance specified, until the indebtedness shall be paid or discharged. 
But no such debt shall be created unless the question of incurring 
the same shall at a regular election for councilmen, aldermen or 
officers of such city or town, be submitted to a vote of such quali- 
fied electors thereof as shall, in the year next preceding, have paid 
a property tax therein, and a majority of those voting on the ques- 
tion, by ballot deposited in a separate ballot-box, shall vote in favor 
of creating such debt ; but the aggregate amount of debt so created, 
together with the debt existing at the time of such election, shall 
not at any time exceed three per cent, of the valuation last afore- 
said. Debts contracted for supplying water to such city or town 
are excepted from the operation of this section. The valuation in 
this section mentioned shall be in all cases that of the assessment 
next preceding the last assessment before the adoption of such ordi- 
nance. 

Sec. 9. Nothing contained in this article shall be so construed 
as to either impair or add to the obhgation of any debt heretofore 
contracted by any county, city, town, or school district, in accord- 
ance with the laws of Colorado Territory, or prevent the contract- 
ing of any debt, or the issuing of bonds therefor, in accordance 
with said laws, upon any proposition for that purpose which may 
have been, according to said laws, submitted to a vote of the quali- 
fied electors of any county, city, town or school district, before the 
day on which this Constitution takes effect. 

ARTICLE XII. 

OFFICERS. 

Section i. Every person holding any civil ofifice under the 
State, or any municipality therein, shall, unless removed according 
to law, exercise the duties of such office until his successor is duly 
qualified ; but this shall not apply to members of the General As- 
sembly, nor to members of any board or assembly, two or more of 
whom are elected at the same time ; the General Assembly may by 
law provide for suspending any officer in his functions, pending 
impeachment or prosecution for misconduct in office. 

Sec. 2. No person shall hold any office or employment of trust 
or profit under the laws of the State, or any ordinance of any mu- 
nicipality therein, without devoting his personal attention to the duties 
of the same. 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 137 

Sec. 3. No persen who is now or hereafter may become a col- 
lector or receiver of public money, or the deputy or assistant of such 
collector or receiver, and who shall have become a defaulter in his 
office, shall be eligible to or assume the duties of any office of trust 
or profit in this State under the laws thereof, or of any municipality 
therein, until he shall have accounted for and paid over all public 
money for which he may be accountable. 

Sec. 4 No person hereafter convicted of embezzlement of pub- 
lic money, bribery, perjury, solicitation of briber)-, or subornation 
of perjury, shall be eligible to the General Assembly, or capable 
of holding any office of trust or profit in this State. 

Sec. 5. The district court of each county shall at each term 
thereof specially give in charge to the grand jury, if there be one, 
the laws regulating the accountability of the county treasurer, and 
shall appoint a committee of such grand jury, or of other reputable 
persons, not exceeding five, to investigate the official accounts and 
affairs of the treasurer of such county, and report to the court the 
condition thereof. The judge of the district court may appoint a 
like committee in vacation at any time, but not oftener than once 
in every three months. The district court of the county wherein 
the seat of government may be shall have the like power to appoint 
committees to investigate the official accounts and affairs of the 
State Treasurer and the Auditor of State. 

Sec. 6. Any civil officer or member of the General Assembly 
who shall solicit, demand or receive, or consent to receive, directly 
or indirectly, for himself or for another, from any company, cor- 
poration or person, any money, office, appointment, employment, 
testimonial, reward, thing of value or enjoyment, or of personal 
advantage or promise thereof, for his vote, official influence, or 
action, or for withholding the same, or with an understanding that 
his official influence or action shall [be] in any way influenced 
thereby, or who shall solicit or demand any such money or advan- 
tage, matter or thing aforesaid for another, as the consideration of 
his vote, official influence or action, or for withholding the same, or 
shall give or withhold his vote, official influence or action, in con- 
sideration of the payment or promise of such money, advantage, 
matter or thing to another, shall be held guilty of bribery, or solici- 
tation of bribery, as the case may be, within the meaning of this 
Constitution, and shall incur the disabilities provided thereby for 
such offense and such additional punishment as is or shall be pre- 
scribed by law. 

Sec. 7. Every member of the General Assembly shall, before 
he enters upon his official duties, take an oath or affirmation to 



138 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 

support the Constitution of the United States and of the State of 
Colorado, and to faithfully perform the duties of his office accord- 
ing to the best of his ability. This oath or affirmation shall be 
administered in the hall of the House to which the member shall 
have been elected. 

Sec. 8. Every civil officer, except members of the General 
Assembly and such inferior officers as may be by law exempted, 
shall, before he enters upon the duties of his office, take and sub- 
scribe an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the 
United States and of the State of Colorado, and to faithfully per- 
form the duties of the office upon which he is about to enter. 

Sec. 9. Officers of the executive department and judges of the 
supreme and district courts, and district attorneys, shall file their 
oaths of office with the Secretary of State ; every other officer shall 
file his oath of office with the county clerk of the county wherein 
he shall have been elected. 

Sec. 10. If any person elected or appointed to any office shall 
refuse or neglect to qualify therein within the time prescribed by 
law, such office shall be deemed vacant. 

Sec. II. The term of office of any officer elected to fill a va- 
cancy shall terminate at the expiration of the term during which 
the vacancy occurred. 

Sec. 12. No person who shall hereafter fight a duel, or assist 
in the same as a second, or send, accept or knowingly carry a chal- 
lenge therefor, or agree to go out of the State to fight a duel, shall 
hold any office in the State. 

ARTICLE XIII. 

IMPEACHMENTS. 

Section i. The House of Representatives shall have the sole 
power of impeachment. The concurrence of a majority of all the 
members shall be necessary to an impeachment. All impeach- 
ments shall be tried by the Senate, and when sitting for that pur- 
pose the Senators shall be upon oath or affirmation to do justice 
according to law and evidence. When the Governor or Lieutenant- 
Governor is on trial, the chief justice of the supreme court shall 
preside. No person shall be convicted without a concurrence of 
two-thirds of the Senators elected. 

Sec. 2. The Governor and other State and judicial officers, ex- 
cept county judges and justices of the peace, shall be liable to 
impeachment for high crimes or misdemeanors, or malfeasance in 
office, but judgment in such cases shall only extend to removal 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 139 

from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust or 
profit in the State. The party, whether convicted or acquitted, 
shall nevertheless be liable to prosecution, trial, judgment and pun- 
ishment according to law. 

Sec. 3. All officers not liable to impeachment shall be subject 
to removal for misconduct or malfeasance in office, in such manner 
as may be provided by law. 

ARTICLE XIV. 

COUNTIES. 

Section i. The several counties of the Territory of Colorado, 
as they now exist, are hereby declared to be counties of the State. 

Sec. 2. The General Assembly shall have no power to remove 
the county seat of any county, but the removal of county seats 
shall be provided for by general law, and no county seat shall be 
removed unless a majority of the qualified electors of the county, 
voting on the proposition at a general election, vote therefor; and 
no such proposition shall be submitted oftener than once in four 
years, and no person shall vote on such proposition who shall not 
have resided in the county six months and in the election precinct 
ninety days next preceding such election. 

Sec. 3. No part of the territory of any county shall be stricken 
off and added to an adjoining county without first submitting the 
question to the qualified voters of the county from which the terri- 
tory is proposed to be stricken off; nor unless a majority of all the 
qualified voters of said county voting on the question shall vote 
therefor. 

Sec. 4. In all cases of the establishment of any new county, 
the new county shall be held to pay its ratable proportion of all 
then existing liabilities of the county or counties from which such 
new county shall be formed. 

Sec. 5. When any part of a county is stricken off and attached 
to another county, the part stricken off shall be held to pay its 
ratable proportion of all then existing liabilities of the county from 
which it is taken. 

COUNTY officers. 

Sec. 6. In each county there shall be elected for the term of 
three years, three county commissioners, who shall hold sessions 
for the transaction of county business as provided by law ; any two 
of whom shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. 
One of said commissioners shall be elected on the first Tuesday in 



140 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 

October, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, and every year there- 
after one such officer shall be elected in each county, at the general 
election, for the term of three years ; Provided, That when the 
population of any county shall exceed ten thousand, the board of 
county commissioners may consist of five members, who shall be 
elected as provided by law, any three of whom shall constitute a 
quorum for the transaction of business. 

Sec. 7. The compensation of all county and precinct officers 
shall be as provided by law. 

Sec. 8. There shall be elected in each county, on the first 
Tuesday in October, in the year eighteen hundred and seventy- 
seven, and every alternate year forever thereafter, one county clerk 
who shall be ex-officio recorder of deeds and clerk of the board of 
county commissioners ; one sheriff; one coroner ; one treasurer, who 
shall be collector of taxes ; one county superintendent of schools ; 
one county surveyor ; and one county assessor. 

Sec. 9. In case of a vacancy occurring in the office of county 
commissioner, the Governor shall fill the same by appointment; 
and in case of a vacancy in any other county office, or in any pre- 
cinct office, the board of county commissioners shall fill the same 
by appointment ; and the person appointed shall hold the office 
until the next general election, or until the vacancy be filled by 
election according to law. 

Sec. 10. No person shall be eligible to any county office unless 
he shall be a qualified elector ; nor unless he shall have resided in 
the county one year preceding his election. 

Sec. II. There shall, at the first election at which county of- 
ficers are chosen, and annually thereafter, be elected in each pre- 
cinct one justice of the peace and one constable, who shall each 
hold his office for the term of two years ; Provided, That in pre- 
cincts containing five thousand or more inhabitants, the number 
of justices and constables may be increased as provided by law.^ 

Sec. 12. The General Assembly shall provide for the election 
or appointment of such other county, township, precinct and mu- 
nicipal officers as public convenience may require ; and their terms 
of office shall be as prescribed by law, not in any case to exceed 
two years. 

Sec. 13. The General Assembly shall provide by general laws 
for the organization and classification of cities and towns. The 
number of such classes shall not exceed four, and the powers of 
each class shall be defined by general laws, so that all municipal 

1 See foot-note i, page 52. 



I 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 141 

corporations of the same class shall possess the same powers and 
be subject to the same restrictions. 

Sec. 14. The General Assembly shall also make provision by 
general law whereby any city, town or village, incorporated by any 
special or local law, may elect to become subject to and be gov- 
erned by the general law relating to such corporations. 

Sec. 15. For the purpose of providing for and regulating the 
compensation of county and precinct officers, the General Assembly 
shall by law classify the several counties of the State according to 
population, and shall grade and fix the compensation of the officers 
within the respective classes according to the population thereof. 
Such law shall establish scales of fees to be charged and collected 
by such of the county and precinct officers as may be designated 
therein for services to be performed by them respectively ; and 
where salaries are provided, the same shall be payable only out of 
the fees actually collected in all cases where fees are prescribed. 
All fees, perquisites and emoluments above the amount of such 
salaries shall be paid into the county treasury. 

ARTICLE XV. 

CORPORATIONS. 

Section i. All existing charters or grants of special or exclusive 
privileges under which the corporators or grantees shall not have 
organized and commenced business in good faith at the time of the 
adoption of this Constitution, shall thereafter have no validity. 

Sec. 2. No charter of incorporation shall be granted, extended, 
changed or amended by special law, except for such municipal, 
charitable, educational, penal or reformatory corporations as are or 
may be under the control of the State ; but the General Assembly 
shall provide by general laws for the organization of corporations 
hereafter to be created. 

Sec. 3. The General Assembly shall have the power to alter, 
revoke or annul any charter of incorporation now existing and 
revocable at the adoption of this Constitution, or any that may 
hereafter be created, whenever in their opinion it may be injurious 
to the citizens of the State, in such manner, however, that no 
injustice shall be done to the corporators. 

Sec. 4. All railroads shall be public highways, and all railroad 
companies shall be common carriers. Any association or corpora- 
tion organized for the purpose shall have the right to construct and 
operate a railroad between any designated points within the State, 
and to connect at the State line with railroads of other States and 



142 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 

Territories. Every railroad company shall have the right with its 
road to intersect, connect with or cross any other railroad. 

Sec. 5. No railroad corporation, or the lessees or managers 
thereof, shall consolidate its stock, property or franchises with any 
other railroad corporation owning or having under its control a 
parallel or competing line. 

Sec. 6. All individuals, associations and corporations shall 
have equal rights to have persons and property transported over 
any railroad in this State, and no undue or unreasonable discrim- 
ination shall be made in charges or in facilities for transportation 
of freight or passengers within the State, and no railroad company, 
nor any lessee, manager or employe thereof, shall give any pref- 
ence to individuals, associations or corporations in furnishing cars 
or motive power. 

Sec. 7. No railroad or other transportation company in exist- 
ence at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall have 
the benefit of any future legislation without first filing in the office 
of the Secretary of State an acceptance of the provisions of this 
Constitution, in binding form. 

Sec. 8. The right of eminent domain shall never be abridged, 
nor so construed as to prevent the General Assembly from taking 
the property and franchises of incorporated companies and sub- 
jecting them to public use, the same as the property of individuals ; 
and the police power of the State shall never be abridged or so 
construed as to permit corporations to conduct their business in 
such manner as to infringe the equal rights of individuals or the 
general well-being of the State. 

Sec. 9. No corporation shall issue stocks or bonds, except for 
labor done, service performed, or money or property actually 
received, and all fictitious increase of stock or indebtedness shall 
be void. The stock of corporations shall not be increased except 
in pursuance of general law, nor without the consent of the persons 
holding a majority of the stock, first obtained at a meeting held 
after at least thirty days' notice given in pursuance of law. 

Sec. 10. No foreign corporation shall do any business in this 
State without having one or more known places of business and an 
authorized agent or agents in the same, upon whom process may 
be served. 

Sec. II. No street railroad shall be constructed within any 
city, town or incorporated village, without the consent of the local 
authorities having the control of the street or highways proposed 
to be occupied by such street railroad. 

Sec. 12. The General Assembly shall pass no law for the 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO, 143 

benefit of a railroad or other corporation, or any individual or 
association of individuals, retrospective in its operation, or which 
imposes on the people of any county or municipal subdivision of 
the State, a new liability in respect to transactions or considerations 
already past. 

Sec. 13. Any association or corporation, or the lessees or 
managers thereof, organized for the purpose, or any individual, 
shall have the right to construct and maintain lines of telegraph 
within this State, and to connect the same with other lines, and the 
General Assembly shall by general law of uniform operation pro- 
vide reasonable regulations to give full efifect to this section. No 
telegraph company shall consolidate with or hold a controlling 
interest in the stock or bonds of any other telegraph company 
owning or having the control of a competing line, or acquire, by 
purchase or otherwise, any other competing line of telegraph. 

Sec. 14. If any railroad, telegraph, express or other corpora- 
tion organized under any of the laws of this State, shall consolidate, 
by sale or otherwise, with any railroad, telegraph, express or other 
corporation organized under any laws of any other State or Terri- 
tory, or of the United States, the same shall not thereby become a 
foreign corporation, but the courts of this State shall retain jurisdic- 
tion over that part of the corporate property within the limits of the 
State in all matters which may arise, as if said consolidation had 
not taken place. 

Sec. 15. It shall be unlawful for any person, company or cor- 
poration to require of its servants or employes, as a condition of 
their employment or otherwise, any contract or agreement whereby 
such person, company or corporation shall be released or discharged 
from liability or responsibility on account of personal injuries 
received by such servants or employes while in the service of such 
person, company- or corporation, by reason of the negligence of 
such person, company or corporation, or the agents or employes 
thereof, and such contracts shall be absolutely null and void. 

ARTICLE XVI. 

MINING AND IRRIGATION. 
MINING. 

Sec. I. There shall be established and maintained the office 
of commissioner of mines, the duties and salaries of which shall 
be prescribed by law. When said office shall be established, the 
Governor shall, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint 



144 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 

thereto a person known to be competent, whose term of office shall 
be four years. 

Sec. 2. The General Assembly shall provide by law for the 
proper ventilation of mines, the construction of escapement shafts, 
and such other appliances as may be necessary to protect the health 
and secure the safety of the workmen therein ; and shall prohibit 
the employment in the mines of children under twelve years of 
age. 

Sec. 3. The General Assembly may make such regulations, 
from time to time, as may be necessary for the proper equitable 
drainage of mines. 

Sec. 4. The General Assembly may provide that the science 
of mining and metallurgy be taught in one or more of the institu- 
tions of learning under the patronage of the State. 

IRRIGATION. 

Sec. 5. The water of every natural stream, not heretofore 
appropriated, within the State of Colorado, is hereby declared to 
be the property of the public, and the same is dedicated to the use 
of the people of the State, subject to appropriation as hereinafter 
provided. 

Sec. 6. The right to divert unappropriated water of any natural 
stream to waters of any natural stream for beneficial uses shall 
never be denied. Priority of appropriation shall give the better 
right as between those using the water for the same purpose ; but 
when the waters of any natural stream are not sufficient for the 
service of all those desiring the use of the same, those using the 
water for domestic purposes shall have the preference over those 
claiming for any other purpose, and those using the water for 
agricultural purposes shall have preference over those using the 
same for manufacturing purposes. 

Sec. 7. All persons and corporations shall have the right of 
way across public, private and corporate lands for the construction 
of ditches, canals and flumes, for the purpose of conveying water 
for domestic purposes, for the irrigation of agricultural lands, and 
for mining and manufacturing purposes, and for drainage, upon 
payment of just compensation. 

Sec. 8. The General Assembly shall provide by law that the 
Board of County Commissioners, in their respective counties, shall 
have power, when application is made to them by either party 
interested, to establish reasonable maximum rates to be charged for 
the use of water, whether furnished by individuals or corporations. 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 145 

. ARTICLE XVII. 

MILITIA. 

Section i. The militia of the State shall consist of all able- 
bodied male residents of the State, between the ages of eighteen 
and forty-five years, except such persons as may be exempted by 
the laws of the United States or of the State. 

Sec. 2. The organization, equipment and discipline of the 
militia shall conform, as nearly as practicable, to the regulations 
for the government of the armies of the United States. 

Sec. 3. The Governor shall appoint all general, field and staff 
■officers, and commission them. Each company shall elect its own 
officers, who shall be commissioned by the Governor ; but if any 
company shall fail to elect such officers within the time prescribed 
by law, they may be appointed by the Governor. 

Sec. 4. The General Assembly shall provide for the safe keep- 
ing of the public arms, military records, relics and banners of 
the State. 

Sec. 5. No person" having conscientious scruples against bear- 
ing arms shall be compelled to do militia duty in time of peace ; 
Provided, Such person shall pa.y an equivalent for such exemption. 

ARTICLE XVIII. 
miscellaneous. 

Section i. The General Assembly shall pass liberal home- 
stead and exemption laws. 

Sec. 2. The General Assembly shall have no power to authorize 
lotteries or gift enterprises for any purpose, and shall pass laws to 
prohibit the sale of lottery or gift enterprise tickets in this State. 

Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to pass 
such laws as may be necessary and proper to decide differences by 
arbitrators, to be appointed by mutual agreement of the parties to 
any controversy, who may choose that mode of adjustment. The 
powers and duties of such arbitrators shall be as prescribed by 
law. 

Sec. 4. The term felony, wherever it may occur in this Consti- 
tution, or the laws of the State, shall be construed to mean any 
criminal offense punishable by death or imprisonment in the peni- 
tentiary, and none other. 

Sec. 5. The General Assembly shall prohibit by law the 
importation into this State, for the purpose of sale, of any 
spurious, poisonous, or drugged spirituous liquors, or spirituous 
10— CoL N 



146 CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO, 

liquors adulterated with any poisonous or deleterious substance, 
mixture, or compound ; and shall prohibit the compounding or 
manufacture within this State, except for chemical or mechanical 
purposes, of any of said liquors, whether they be denominated 
spirituous, vinous, malt or otherwise ; and shall also prohibit the 
sale of any such liquors to be used as a beverage, and any viola- 
tion of either of said prohibitions shall be punished by fine and 
imprisonment. The General Assembly shall provide by law for the 
condemnation and destruction of all spurious, poisonous or drugged 
liquors herein prohibited. 

Sec. 6. The General Assembly shall enact laws in order to 
prevent the destruction of and to keep in good preservation the 
forests upon the lands of the State, or upon the lands of the public 
domain, the control of which shall be conferred by congress upon 
the State. 

Sec. 7. The General Assembly may provide that the increase 
in the value of private lands caused by the planting of hedges, 
orchards and forests thereon shall not for a limited time, to be fixed 
by law, be taken into account in assessing such lands for taxation. 

Sec. 8. The General Assembly shall provide for the publication 
of the laws passed at each session thereof; and until the year 1900 
they shall cause to be published in Spanish and German a sufficient 
number of copies of said laws to supply that portion of the inhab- 
itants of the State who speak those languages and who may be 
unable to read and understand the English language. 

ARTICLE XIX. 

AMENDMENTS. 

Section i . The General Assembly may at any time by a vote 
of two-thirds of the members elected to each House recommend 
to the electors of the State to vote at the next general election for 
or against a convention to revise, alter and amend this Constitu- 
tion ; and if a majority of those voting on the question shall declare 
in favor of such convention the General Assembly shall at its next 
session provide for the calling thereof. The number of members 
of the convention shall be twice that of the Senate and they shall 
be elected in the same manner, at the same places, and in the 
same districts. The General Assembly shall, in the act of calling 
the convention designate the day, hour and place of its meeting, 
fix the pay of its members and officers, and provide for the pay- 
ment of the same, together with the necessary expenses of the con- 
vention. Before proceeding the members shall take an oath to 



CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 147 

support the Constiuition of the United States and of the State of 
Colorado and to faithfully discharge their duties as members of the 
convention. The qualification of members shall be the same as 
of members of the Senate, and vacancies occurring shall be filled in 
the manner provided for filling vacancies in the General Assembly. 
Said convention shall meet within three months after such election 
and prepare such revisions, alterations or amendments to the Con- 
stitution as may be deemed necessary, which shall be submitted to 
the electors for their ratification or rejection, at an election appointed 
by the convention for that purpose, not less than two nor more than 
six months after adjournment thereof; and unless so submitted and 
approved by a majority of the electors voting at the election no 
such revision, alteration or amendment shall take effect. 

Sec. 2. Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution 
may be proposed in either House of the General Assembly and if 
the same shall be voted for by two-thirds of all the members elected 
to each House, such proposed amendments, together with the ayes 
and noes of each House thereon, shall be entered in full on their 
respective journals ; and the Secretary of State shall cause the said 
amendment or amendments to be published in full in at least one 
newspaper in each county (if such there be) for three months pre- 
vious to the next general election for members to the General 
Assembly ; and at said election the said amendment or amend- 
ments shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the State for 
their approval or rejection, and such as are approved by a majority 
of those voting thereon shall become part of this Constitution, but 
the General Assembly shall have no power to propose amendments 
to more than one article of this Constitution at the same session. 



SUBJECTS OF THE SEVERAL ARTICLES OF THE 
CONSTITUTION OF COLORADO. 

PAGK 

Article I. Boundaries ... 102 

II. Bill of Rights 102 

III. Distribution of Powers 106 

IV. Executive Department 106 

V. Legislative Department m 

VI. TuDici.\L Departmen-t 119 

VII. Suffrage and Elections 125 

VIII. State Institutions 126 

IX. Education 128 

X. Revenue 130 

XI. Public Indebtedness 133 

XII. Officers 136 

XIII. Impeachments 138 

XIV. Counties 139 

XV. C0KPOR.A.T10NS 14^ 

XVI. Mining and Irrigation 143 

XVII. Militia 145 

XV^III. Miscellaneous 145 

XIX. Amendments 146 



APPENDIX. 

»o>^oo 

TERRITORIAL GOVERNORS OF COLORADO. 

From To 

William Gilpin July, 1861 May, 1862 

John Evans May, 1862 Oct. 1865 

Alexander Cummings Oct. 1865 May, 1867 

Alexander C. Hunt May, 1867 June, 1869 

Edward M. McCook June, 1869 April, 1873 

Samuel H. Elbert April, 1873 July, 1874 

Edward M. McCook July, 1874 Mar. 1875 

John L. Eoutt Mar. 1875 Nov. 1876 

GOVERNORS OF THE STATE OF COLORADO. 

John L. Routt Nov. 1876 Jan. 1879 

Fred. W. Pitkin Jan. 1879 Jan. 1883 

James B. Grant Jan. 1883 Jan. 1885 

Benj. H. Eaton Jan. 1885 Jan. 1887 

Alva Adams Jan. 1887 Jan. 1889 

Job A. Cooper Jan. 1889 Jan. 1891 

John L. Routt Jan. 1891 Jan. 1893 

Davis H. Waite Jan. 1893 Jan. 1895 

Albert W. Mclntire Jan. 1895 Jan. 1897 

Alva Adams Jan. 1897 

COUNTIES AND COUNTY SEATS IN COLORADO. 

County. County Seat. 

1. Arapahoe Denver. 

2. Archuleta Pagosa Springs. 

3. Baca Springfield. 

4. Bent Las Animas. 

5. Boulder Boulder. 

6. ChafFee Buena Vista. 

7. Cheyenne Cheyenne Wells. 

8. Clear Creek Georgetown 

9. Conejos Conejos. 

10. Costilla San Luis. 

11. Custer Silver Cliff. 

148 



APPENDIX. 149 

County. Odunty Seat. 

12. Delta Delta, 

13. Dolores Rico. 

14. Douglas Castle Rock. 

15. Eagle Red Cliff. 

16. Elbert Kiowa. 

17. El Paso Colorado Springs. 

18. Fremont Canon City. 

19. Garfield Glenwood Springs. 

20. Gilpin Central City. 

21. Grand Hot Sulphur Springs. 

22. Gunnison Gunnison. 

23. Hinsdale Lake City. 

24. Huerfano Walsenburg. 

25. Jefferson Golden. 

26. Kiowa Sheridan Lake. 

27. Kit Carson Burlington. 

28. Lake Leadville. 

29. La Plata Durango. 

30. Larimer Fort Collins. 

31. Las Animas Trinidad. 

32. Lincoln Hugo. 

33. Logan Sterling. 

34. Mesa Grand Junction. 

35. Mineral Creede. 

36. Montezuma Cortez. 

37. Montrose Montrose. 

38. Morgan Fort Morgan. 

39. Otero La Junta. 

40. Ouray Ouray. 

41. Park Fairplay. 

42. Phillips Holyoke. 

43. Pitkin Aspen. 

44. Prowers Lamar. 

45. Pueblo Pueblo. 

46. Rio Blanco Meeker. 

47. Rio Grande Del Norte. 

48. Routt Hahn's Peak. 

49. Saguache Saguache. 

50. San Juan Silverton. 

51. San Miguel Telluride. 

52. Sedgwick Julesburg. 



150 APPENDIX, 

County. County Seat. 

53. Summit Brecken ridge. 

54. Washington Akron. 

55. Weld Greeley. 

56. Yuma Yuma. 

SALARIES OF THE PRINCIPAL STATE OFFICERS. 

Governor $5000 

Lieutenant-Governor 1000 

Secretary of State 3000 

Auditor 2500 

Attorney-General 3000 

Treasurer 6000 

Superintendent of Public Instruction 3000 

Justices of Supreme Court, each 5000 

Judges of Court of Appeals, each 5000 

Judges of District Courts, each 4000 

District Attorneys, each 800 

A member of the General Assembly receives $7 per day and mileage. 
The salaries of local officers are regulated by general law. 



WORKS OF REFERENCE. 

The plan of this book presupposes a careful reading of the Constitu- 
tion together with such supplementary reading as the time and oppor- 
tunities of the pupil may permit. The following works will be found 
helpful and stimulating: 

Mills, Annotated Statutes of Colorado, 
Dole, The American Citizen. 
Dole, Talks About Law. 
NoRDHOFF, Politics for Young Americans. 

La LOR, Cyclopcedia of Political Science, Political Economy and United 
States History. 

Adams, Johns Hopkins University Studies. 
Thorpe, A Course in Civil Government. 
Macy, Our Government. 
Wilson, The State. 

FiSKE, Civil Government in the United States. 
Bryce, The American Commonwealth. 
Martin, Civil Government. 
Hinsdale, The Amerioan Government. 
Brooks, How the Republic is Governed. 




(The references are to paragraphs except where otherwise indicated.) 



I Administrative boards and ap- 

pointp:d ofp^icers, 49. 
Administrative officers, p. 45. 
Agricultural college, 114. 
Annual school meeting, 81. 
Appendix, p. 148. 
Appointed county officers : county 

attorney, 75; county visitors, 76; 

county sheep inspector, 77 ; road 

overseer, 78 ; county board of 

horticulture, 79. 
Arapahoe county court-house, p. 59. 
Assessment of taxes, 94. 
Attempts at government, p. 14. 
Attorney-general, 47. 
Attorneys, 61. 
Auditor of State, 45. 

Benevolent institutions, 120. 
Board of county commissioners, 67. 
Boards of State institutions, p. 44. 

Candidates, 135. 

Capitol building, p. 33. 

Citizen, 30. 

City defined, 83. 

City hall, Denver, p. 67. 

City of Denver, 90. 

Classification of cities, 85. 

Clerk of court, 60. 

Collection of taxes, 97. 

Colorado as a State, p. 19. 

Colorado as a Territory, p. 16. 

Committees, 38. 

Compulsory education, 108. 

Constable, 58. 

Constitution of Colorado, 102. 

Contested elections, 145. 

Control and maintenance of State 

schools, 117. 
Conventions, 136. 
Council, 88. 
Counting votes, 143. 
County, 65. 
County assessor, 71. 
County attorney, p. 54. 
County clerk and recorder, 68. 



County coroner, 72. 

County court, 55. 

County jail, 126. 

County officers, 66. 

Countv superintendent of schools, 

74. 
County surveyor, 73. 
County treasurer, 70. 
Court of appeals, 53. 

Delinquent classes, 125. 
Departments of government, 32. 
Dependent classes of people, 122. 
Discovery and exploration, p. 11. 
District attorney, p. 54. 
District court, 54. 

Early settlements, p. 12. 
Elections, pp. 93, 96. 
Elector, 31. 

Equalization of taxes, 95. 
Executive department, 41. 
Executive officers of courts, 59. 
Ex-officio boards, p. 42. 

Future of Colorado, p. 24. 

General Assembly, 34. 
General property tax, 93. 
Gilpin, William, p. 9. 
Government, 5. 
Government of cities, 86. 
Governor, 42. 

Graded elementary schools, 106. 
Graded schools, 105. 
Great seal, p. 28. 

Higher education, p. 81. 
High School, East Denver, p. 77. 
Historical sketch of Colorado, p. 9. 
House of Representatives, 35. 
How laws are made, 39. 

Importance of local govern- 
ment, 6. 
Incorporation of cities, 84. 
Industrial school, 129. 

151 



152 



INDEX. 



Industrial school for girls, 130. 
Irrigating a wheat field, p. 21. 

Judges of election, 141. 
Judicial power, 51. 
Justice's court, 57. 

Land, 2. 

Laws, 4. 

Legislative power, 33. 

Licensing of teachers, 110. 

Lieutenant-governor, 43. 

Local government, 64. 

Majority and minority, 132. 

Map of Colorado, p. 10. 

Mayor, 87. 

Militia, 50. 

Municipal government, p. 67. 

Nomination by certificate, 138. 
Nominations by convention, 137. 
Notary public, p. 46. 

Officer-elect, 146. 
Organization of political parties, 

134. 
Organization of the two houses, 37. 
Other income, 99. 
Other ofl&cers of the city, 89. 
Other State boards, p. 43. 
Other taxes, 98. 

Penal and reformatory insti- 
tutions, p. 88. 

Penitentiary, 127. 

People, 3. 

Police court, 56. 

Political parties, 133. 

Prominent events in the history 
of Colorado, p. 26. 

Public education, p. 77. 

Public indebtedness, 100. 

Eeference books, p. 27. 
Representative apportionment, p. 

30. 
Resources of Colorado, p. 20. 



Restrictions on law-making, 40. 
Revenue for support of schools, 109. 
Routt, John L., p. 19. 
Royal Gorge, p. 25. 
Rural schools, 104. 

Safeguards against frauds in 
elections, 144. 

School directors, 82. 

School districts, 80. 

School system, 103. 

School for the deaf and the blind, 
121. 

School of mines, 113. 

Secondary school, 107. 

Secretary of State, 44. 

Senate, 36. 

Senatorial districts, p. 30. 

Sheriff, 69. 

Special schools. 111. 

Soldiers' and sailors' home, 124. 

State, definition of, 1. 

State home for dependent children, 
123. 

State normal school, pp. 83, 84. 

State reformatory, 128. 

State treasurer, 46. 

State university, 116. 

Studies on benevolent, penal and 
reformatory institutions, p. 92. 

Studies on elections, p. 101. 

Studies on local government, p. 70. 

Studies on public education, p. 86. 

Studies on taxation, 76. 

Studies on the government of the 
State, p. 57. 

Superintendent of public instruc- 
tion, 48, 102. 

Supervisory boards, 131. 

Supreme court, 52. 

Taxes, 92. 

Tax levy, 96. 

Ticket, 139. 

Towns, 91. 

Trial by impeachment, 63. 

Trial by jury, 62. 

Voting, 142. 



The End. 




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